


Percy Jackson and the Ghost King

by KisetsuShirosenshi116



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Character Turned Into a Ghost, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-19
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-01-19 22:36:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 63,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1486636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KisetsuShirosenshi116/pseuds/KisetsuShirosenshi116
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eight peaceful years have passed at camp Half-Blood. Percy thought he was done with the quest thing, but Hades has other plans. Nico's soul has been scattered and he wants Percy to go and pick up the pieces. If only Nico's ghost would stop following him and making things difficult. Oh well, the Gods did promise that his love life would be interesting. Percy/Nico Rated M for later...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Water is Silence

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea where this came from. I regret nothing.
> 
> Expect OoC-ness. This is like eight years in the future. The characters are bound to have changed in some ways.
> 
> Italics = Thinking
> 
> Bold = Nico

The water was deafening.

The water was silence.

Percy opened his sea-green eyes and stared toward the surface. He was in shallow water, it was only 8 feet deep, and so it wasn’t too dark. Streams of light from the afternoon sun made their way under the surface; making the water that it touched warm.

For a Son of Poseidon, being underwater was as natural as breathing. And Percy took full advantage of that. Being under the sea’s steady pressure was the only thing that could help him think. And that was something he didn’t really get a chance to do these days.

How could he think with all the responsibilities that he had gained over the years? He watched over the camp, training the new Demi-Gods, and keeping the bond between Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood strong. It was a lot to handle, but he wouldn’t have any other way, he had been doing it for so long now it came as easily to him as breathing underwater did.

After the war against Titans and the War against Gaea, things had settled down quite a bit. The camps continued to co-exist and Demi-Gods were still given quests to keep the monster population in check. And before he knew it, Annabeth was leaving to go live in Camp Jupiter so she could go to college and Percy was left alone to his own devices.

At first they talked often while they were apart, and then when Percy’s duties kept him away, and Annabeth’s classes became more demanding, they eventually decided to call it off. They were still friends, and they talked every now and then. But it wasn’t the same as before.  
Percy did miss Annabeth. They had made it through Tartarus together, something like that isn’t just forgotten about easily, but they were at different parts of their lives, and instead of dragging it out, they ended it so they could both move on.

He thought he would be upset, but truthfully, looking back, she was his first love, but they were children. They were bound to find different paths to follow.

Percy did try to date again, but it never really worked out. He was always so busy that he would end up ignoring whoever he was dating at the time. Or even, embarrassingly enough, forgetting and or being late for dates.

And now, at age 25, Percy was sure his love life was not something that was meant to be.

And here the Gods promised to make his love life interesting.

Someone approached the edge of the water. Percy could sense the blood flowing through the person’s body.

Yeah. That was something new that had developed over the years.

At one point he had been scared at how much his powers were growing, but now he just went with it. If a new ability showed up, he trained, controlled and harnessed it.

He sighed (could you even do that underwater?) and kicked off the bottom of the ocean floor, making it to the surface in record time.

Jason was standing on the shore. His hands were stuffed in the pockets of his gray sweater, which meant it was probably cold.

The water temperature didn’t affect Percy, even in fall. But his friends still thought he was crazy for swimming at this time of year anyway.

He swam to shore; as soon as he was standing on the sand he willed the water off him, leaving his jeans and orange camp t shirt completely dry.

“Hey, man.” Jason ran up to him and clapped him on his shoulder, “you’ve been in there for three hours now. Is everything okay?”

Percy looked up at the sun, and sure enough, it was starting to dip below the horizon.

“Everything’s fine,” he said. “I was just thinking.” He started back toward camp, Jason following silently behind him.

There was a time where someone would laugh and make a quip about him thinking too hard. But after being the leader of the camp for almost eight years, people finally came to understand he wasn’t as stupid as he looked.

“So why did you come to get me? There’s nothing wrong back at camp, is there?” Percy asked him.

“No, nothing’s wrong. Piper was just concerned that you missed supper again. She’s always worried about you these days. Should I be jealous?”

Percy laughed and pushed him gently. Ever since Jason had made himself a permanent resident at Camp Half blood, he and Percy had become best friends. Jason was his second in command, and a sturdy pillar to lean on.

Piper had become like an advisor to him after Annabeth left, and (not that he would like to admit) but she was there emotionally after his break up with the daughter of Athena.

And Leo… He shook his head at the thought. Leo was someone he could always go to if he needed to be cheered up. The guy was always a ball of energy, and his girlfriend, Calypso was no better.

He did miss Hazel and Frank. They were still at camp Jupiter, and from what he heard, they were doing just fine. He missed the awkward couple, but he still kept in touch with them as much as possible.

He resisted the urge to run his fingers along his S.P.Q.R tattoo. It burned every time he thought of Camp Jupiter, like it was trying to call him back there.

There was one person he hadn’t seen in forever, and that was the one and only elusive Nico di Angelo.

After the war with Gaea was over, Nico stuck around long enough to make sure the camp was stable, before telling Percy his ‘secret’, and disappearing like the shadows he traveled in.

His secret, which Percy had caught onto long before poor Nico worked up the courage to tell him, was the fact that he was gay. Percy knew that, but what he didn’t know was that the fourteen year old boy had a crush on him.

That surprised him, and if anything, it made him sad. He felt bad that Nico had obviously been beating himself up over his feelings, and Percy had gone on without noticing it. It must have been painful to hold something like that in.

And then when Nico had gone and finally confessed his feelings, Percy did the dumbest thing he could have done.

He went speechless. His mouth wasn’t able to form any words to reply. It wasn’t out of disgust, but more out of surprise.

But Nico took it in the worst way possible, and he disappeared from the surface world.

Percy had no doubt that the son of Hade’s was down in the underworld somewhere, brooding.

Not even Hazel had seen him.

At least that’s what she told Percy.

More than anything he wanted to make up with Nico. They had been friends once, and even with all the betrayals and the heartache, he enjoyed his company.

But if Nico wanted to hide away in the underworld, there was no way Percy could go after him. Not only was it impossible, he had no desire to beget the wrath of Hade’s.

“Percy. Hello…?”

Percy jumped as Jason poked his ribs. “Sorry,” he said, trying to get his bearings. “I was lost in thought again.” He was surprised to see that they were already standing in front of his cabin. He couldn’t even remember walking across the camp.

“Thinking about Nico again?” Jason asked in a sly tone.

Percy frowned at him. “What’s it to you, Grace?”

Jason smiled at him, trying to act cute. “Oh nothing, I just wondering. You see, you get this dreamy look in your eyes every time you think about him…”

Jason was lucky he had learned to teleport (how cool was that?) because Percy would have punched him if he hadn’t move out of the way.

The smiling fool waved at him from thirty feet away and yelled, “don’t deny your feelings, we all know you have a big ol’ crush on Nico!” With his point made, he skipped off before Percy could chase after him and beat the crap out of him.

Percy grumbled and opened the door to his cabin. He didn’t even bother taking off his clothes as he collapsed on the bed and closed his eyes.

He resented the fact that Jason thought he had a crush on Nico. The last time he had seen the guy was eight years ago, he’d probably changed just as much as Percy had.  
And it wasn’t even a crush!

Sure he thought about Nico a lot.

And wondered where he was.

And what he looked like now.

Gah!

He rolled over and buried his face into his pillow. He was twenty five years old. And he liked girls. Well okay, maybe his Greek genes made him open to looking at other guys, but that wasn’t really his fault.

With those last comforting thoughts, he allowed himself to drift off.

And he was immediately tugged into a dream.

He was sitting on his bed, in his cabin, and for some reason the lights were all off. But even in the darkness he could make out the shadowed figure of Hade’s leaning against the wall opposite to him.

The God of the underworld looked almost like the corpses he ruled over. His black hair was brushed back and was shoulder length; it stood out against his skin that was so white it resembled something that looked more like alabaster stone rather than living flesh. His black robes billowed out around him like silk, the tortured faces of evil souls starred at

Percy like they were accusing him of something. But the worst thing was Hade’s eyes, they were as black as the Stygian armor Percy had often seen him wear, and there was a dangerous glint in his eyes. You weren’t sure if you were looking in the eyes of a genius or a madman.

“Great, this looks like the start to every nightmare I’ve ever had.”

The trickling of his fountain was the only sound between them for a few seconds, before Hade’s spoke.

“I need you to do something for me.” Hade’s voice held no indication that Percy would be given a choice in the matter.

Percy scoffed at him, “and what makes you think I’d do anything for you?”

Hades face contorted in anger, but he managed to keep his temper at bay. “I’ve become aware of your…” His expression changed, and if Percy didn’t know any better, he’s say the God looked… uncomfortable?

“—your feelings for my son.”

Percy didn’t have anything to say now. He sat there silently; waiting for Hade’s to continue. He tried not to look too embarrassed, even though all he wanted to do was smother himself in his pillow.

“My son, Nico, he’s become disagreeable of late.” Hade’s expression changed back to anger, the souls on his robes mirroring his own. “He’s went back into Tartarus and never returned, and unfortunately his mortal body died.”

“Died—?!“

Hade’s held up a hand, cutting him off. “Compose yourself, Demi-God. I haven’t finished.”

Percy said nothing, but he did curl his fists, his nails digging into his palms.

“As you know, we as parents are not allowed to directly interfere with our children’s lives. And so instead of getting my brother all in a tizzy, I’ve decided to enlist your help.” Those last few words appeared to hurt the God.

“But what can I do?” Percy asked him. “I can’t bring back the dead, and besides, I’m the leader of this camp, I can’t just leave.”

“So you’re willing to leave Nico’s soul to wander about Tartarus for eternity?”

Percy didn’t need to think about it. He had been in Tartarus, he had seen how horrible it was, how lost and desperate you could become. “No,” he said quietly. He opened his hand and stared down at the blood gathered on his palms. “No, I would never leave anyone to that fate,” he looked up and met Hade’s eyes. “What do I have to do?”

Now the look in the God’s eyes was definitely that of a mad man. “I need you to take a quest for me. That way no one here will question it.”

“You still haven’t old me what this quest will involve.” Percy said curtly. He hated when the Gods toyed with him like this.

Hade’s smiled then, and Percy wasn’t sure if he hated his smile or his glare more.

“I’ve split Nico’s soul into five pieces. I thought that would be appropriate. Five pieces of his soul to represent the five stages of grief after someone dies.” Hade’s seemed so proud of himself.

“Each piece of his souls will be located in different parts of the place you now call Europe. The monster population is much higher over there. I had to make it a challenge for you.”

Percy rolled his eyes; he was already starting to regret helping him.

“Guarding each piece of Nico’s soul will be a monster of legend. You defeat the monster and that part of Nico’s soul will go into this,” he held up a familiar blade, it was Nico’s Stygian black sword. “When you collect all five pieces, return to me in the underworld where I will be keeping watch over his body. I will return his soul to his flesh then, leaving no room for Dear Zeus to complain.”

The weight of what he had to do hit him after he sat there in silence for a few minutes, and Percy couldn’t tell if he was terrified, or more excited than he’d been in a really long time.

“If you do this, Percy Jackson, I may consider taking your feelings for my son into account.” Hade’s was frowning again, and yes, Percy liked it more than the smile.

“Not that I’m too concerned. Nico overcame his feelings for you a long time ago, and he’s changed much since you were children. I doubt once you see him again you’ll feel anything for him at all.”

Percy was about to come back with a rude retort, but Hade’s cut him off.

“It’s seems our time is up. You have one month to collect the pieces of Nico’s soul and return them to me.”

“You didn’t say anything about a time limit!”

But Hade’s only answer was an infuriatingly smug smile.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

When Percy opened his eyes, the sun was shining in them, almost blinding him. He didn’t even bother moving, he was still dazed from the dream.

“If it even was a dream…”

After laying there and feeling miserable (which tend to happen when a god keeps you up for what feels like half the night) he finally summoned up the will power to get up.

It was a chore to detangle himself from the blankets. His foot was completely stuck, and it took a good pull to get it free. Unfortunately in his enthusiasm he ended up flipping himself right over backwards, almost landing on a black sword that hadn’t been lying on his floor the night before.

He groaned and pushed the sword away from him, being careful not to cut his hand on the razor sharp blade.

“So it wasn’t a dream.”

He was going on a quest to find Nico. It would probably be a very dangerous quest that would (most likely) kill him.

A typical day then.

By the time he finally managed to pick himself off the floor and get a shower, it was already past lunch. Piper would no doubt be freaking over the fact that he missed two meals that day.

He didn’t have time for the last meal of the day either. He still had to pack and inform Chiron that he was leaving, and he had to set Jason up as the leader for the time he would be gone.

He pulled on his jeans and his orange camp t shirt. He could feel the moisture in the air, threatening to snow, so he put on a blue jacket as well.

Nico’s sword was still on the floor. He wasn’t sure how he was going to carry it around; it didn’t have the same magic as Riptide. There was no way it was fitting in his pocket.

He picked it up anyway and held it close for inspection. Other than feeling unbalanced in his hand, it wasn’t a bad looking sword.

**“By the Gods.”**

Percy damn near jumped out of his skin.

He spun around, looking for whoever spoke. There was no way anyone could have snuck in while he was in the shower, Percy would have been able to sense them.

This person was not alive though.

He was see-through, his coloring dulled by the blue walls visible behind him. But Percy could make out his black and wavy shoulder length hair and his black eyes. His outfit hadn’t changed much: black skinny jeans and a skull t-shirt, and a skull ring on his finger. The only big difference was the missing aviator jacket, which had been replaced by a sleek black leather jacket.

“Out of all the people to get a hold of my sword, it had to be you.”

The ghost of Nico di Angelo looked more like his father than ever as he gave Percy a look of distaste.

**“I think I would have rather been awakened by a monster.”**

“Nico…?”

Percy wanted to kick himself for sounding so stunned.

Nico smiled at him as he pushed off the floor to hover around him in circles.

**“That’s me. Here in the… Ectoplasm…”**

Finally regaining his senses, Percy stepped forward and stuck his hand through Nico’s chest. His eyes widened in amazement when his hand turned ice cold. “How are you here?Isn’t your soul…” He drew his hand back and waved his arms around. “Scattered or something?”

Nico gave him a weird look, and Percy felt like he was missing something important.

**“I’m the Ghost King, did you forget or something? Scattered soul or not, I can still turn myself into a spirit.”**

Nico drifted around Percy in a slow circle. He loved how uncomfortable the Demi-God looked.

**“How did you get my sword anyway? I intended for it to stay down in Tartarus.”**

“Your father brought it back for me,” Percy tried not to sound too rude. “He’s sending me on a quest to bring back your soul and revive you.”

Nico frowned and said nothing.

There were a million things he wanted to ask the ghost, but Percy once again found himself tongue tied. He wanted to know why he left, and why he refused to take any of his Iris calls.

He wanted to know how he still felt about him.

Percy didn’t care if Nico didn’t have a crush on him anymore, but he wanted to know if it was possible to rebuild their friendship.

Nico never gave him a chance to reply to him all those years ago. Now maybe he would get the chance to talk to him.

“How long are you going to be here?” Percy asked him as he maneuvered around the ghost until he could get to his bed. He put the sword down and started packing his things so he could keep his hands busy while they talked.

**“Well my spirit is tied to my sword, so as long as I’m dead I guess. I wasn’t really thinking when I tied myself to it.”**

“You weren’t thinking at all if you went to Tartarus by yourself. What did you think would happen?”

But he didn’t say this out loud. Instead he finished packing his things and then made his bed.

He ignored Nico’s remark about his sloppy bed making skills.

Percy strapped the sword onto his bag and then slung it over his shoulder; he almost walked right through Nico’s ghost who was standing directly behind him.  
“Dude, personal space.”

Nico laughed and Percy’s heart almost stopped. In all his years of knowing the Ghost King, he had never heard him laugh. He wasn’t expecting it.

Nico seemed to notice the look Percy was giving him, and his mirth quickly vanished.

**“Whatever. Hurry up and go find my soul or whatever. I’m already bored. The afterlife sucks.”**

“Don’t hurt yourself saying ‘thank you’.” Percy muttered under his breath. Hades was right, Nico had changed. He was more bitter and ungrateful than before.

He flicked the light switch off and opened his door, almost running right into Jason who was standing on the other side.

“Jay! What’s up?” He looked over his shoulder at Nico’s ghost who was still floating around behind him. He had no idea how to explain this to the blond boy.

Jason didn’t wasn’t able to see Nico’s ghost though, even when the Italian floated right through him.

Percy did however; notice the slight shiver that overtook Jason when the ghost made contact with him.

“Nothing much, everyone was just wondering if you were going to come eat at some point today.” Jason stepped back and allowed Percy to walk out of his cabin and lock the door.

“And by everyone, you mean Piper?” Percy turned and both the boys smiled at each other.

**“You two are so lame.”**

Nico said as he continued to hover around them.

Percy chose to ignore him.

It was then that Jason noticed Percy’s packed bag, and a certain stygian blade strapped to the back. “Is that Nico’s sword?”

Percy tried not to look too guilty as he shielded the sword from Jason’s view. “Yeah, it is. I got it from Hades.”

When Jason continued to stare at him confused, Percy quickly explained to him the dream and the quest that the God of Death had given him. He didn’t mention the fact that Nico was currently floating behind Jason, which would probably overwhelm the situation.

“So basically,” Jason said as he and Percy started walking in the direction of the big house. “You’re saying that your first quest in like eight years is going to take you all the way to the most dangerous part of the world for Demi-Gods. And you’re somehow going to survive even though you’re horribly out of practice.”

“Hey, I’ve been training every day with the campers!” Percy said angrily.

“Yeah, you train against Demi-God children.” Jason said. “It’s been a long time since you’ve been out on your own.”

**“Is he like- your boyfriend or something?”**

Nico sounded amused.

Percy tried not to pay attention to him. “I know, but I can’t really tell Hades to go fuck himself.”

“Well…” Jason trailed off, not able to make an argument for that.

They walked past a couple of campers that were practicing their sword fighting. The two men were quiet, but Percy could tell Jason was upset.

“You know, Percy.”

Percy looked at the son of Zeus out of the corner of his eye.

“There’s no guaranteed this quest will fix things between you and Nico. Even if you do manage to bring him back, he might not be the same person…”

“Tell me about it.” Percy looked at Nico’s ghost, who was following them closely, he appeared deep in thought.

Jason stopped them and placed a hand on Percy’s shoulder, “I won’t try to stop you. I know how you are when it comes to your loyalty with your friends. So don’t worry about the camp, I’ll keep everything together while you’re gone. It will be one less thing for you to worry about.”

Percy let out a sigh of relief. He could always count on Jason.

**“He’s a good friend.”**

Percy met Nico’s eyes, and he saw that the ghost was being sincere.

**“He accepted me for who I was, and even helped me to come to terms with my feelings. I missed his friendship the most when I left the camp.”**

The green-eyed man couldn’t agree more.

Jason’s hand gripped his shoulder and he shook Percy slightly. “And maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll finally be able to talk to Nico about your little cr—erk!”

Percy slapped a hand over his mouth, his face turning red. “Stop being so loud!”

Nico narrowed his eyes at the two of them, but he didn’t say anything.

There was no way he was going to make it through the next month alive.

Welcome to the life of Percy Jackson.


	2. Breath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again. I'm glad you all enjoyed the first chapter!

After Jason and Percy said their goodbyes, Percy made his way to the big house so he could tell Chiron what was happening.

The old Centaur didn't look impressed, and he tried to fight Percy when he said he was going alone. But Percy stood firm, besides, he would have Black Jack with him.

And Nico, but no one needed to know that.

With that out of the way, Percy went to the Pegasus stables next. Black Jack was excited to be going on a journey, even if they would be going to one of the most dangerous places in the world. But Percy wasn't planning on keeping him there with him; he would send Black Jack back to camp once he got to Europe or wherever he was going.

No one else came to say goodbye, and he preferred it that way. Jason probably hadn't gotten around to telling everyone. They would have no doubt tried to join him, or worse, tried to stop him, so he was relieved.

"So do you have to follow me around? Or can you go other places?" Percy asked the quiet ghost. Nico hadn't said much since they left Jason. And if Percy didn't know better, Nico looked troubled by something. He swung himself onto the Pegasus's back and held on as he took off into the sky.

Even though he could fly, levitate; float (whatever) Nico sat on Black Jack behind him. If Black Jack sensed something he didn't react. Apparently the 'all animals see ghosts' thing didn't apply to a Pegasus.

" **No, I have to stay close to my sword."**

Percy couldn't see his face, but he could tell from his voice that Nico was scowling. "Well that's good then. It gives us lots of time to talk."

'Boss? Why are you talking to yourself?'

"No reason Black Jack, just go with it."

'Whatever you say, Boss.'

Behind him, Nico chuckled and an icy feeling washed over his back. He must have been leaning into Percy's back.

Percy tried not to shiver as he felt a cold breath on his ear.

" **What do you want to talk about, Perseus?"**

"Don't call me that," Percy said, trying to lean away from the mischievous ghost behind him. But Nico continued to hang off of him, or whatever he was doing. It was getting really chilly. "Tell me what you were doing in the underworld this whole time."

Nico finally moved away from him, and at first Percy thought the ghost had disappeared.

"Nico?"

" **My father kept me busy. I spent most of my time doing small tasks for him. And when I wasn't helping him I was training, mostly with spirits of the dead, you know what they say about learning from our past."**

"Were your powers growing too? Mine have been going insane." Percy wasn't surprised, Jason, him and Nico were sons of the Big Three. Their powers were stronger than that of a normal Demi-God.

" **I suppose… My father wanted to keep a close eye on me. So I stayed down in the Underworld and he helped me control my new powers."**

"Is that the only reason you stayed away from the surface and your friends for so long?" Percy asked him. He didn't mean to sound so bitter, but he couldn't help it. Nico had left without letting him voice his thoughts, and the Gods only knew if he had been keeping in contact with Hazel.

Nico didn't answer him, and he could feel things slowly growing awkward, so he asked something else.

"What were you doing in Tartarus, Nico? Why would you ever go back to that place?"

" **That's none of your business."** Nico's reply was quick and angrier than Percy would have liked.

The Son of Poseidon sighed loudly and focused his attention on the sky in front of him. Nico had never been an easy person to talk to unless he was geek-ing out over Mythomagic. But this older and broodier version of the Ghost King was definitely going to take some getting used to.

"About what you said to me before you disappeared," Percy said carefully, not wanting to make the situation any worse. "You know, about your feelings for me. You never gave me a chance to say anything."

The cold came back. Nico's form felt much bigger than his own. He tried not to think about what he would do if Nico had grown taller than him

" **Was there any point in hearing it? The only thing you would have said was 'sorry, I'm with Annabeth, and also, I'm straight'. I knew what you would say, so I left before you hurt yourself while trying to form the words."**

Percy frowned. "You're kind of a dick, you know that, right? And how do you know that's how I felt?" His second question was mumbled under his breath. He hoped the blowing wind was loud enough that Nico didn't hear it.

Back then Nico had come to him to confess his feelings, Percy had been happy and madly in love with Annabeth. But it didn't mean he didn't feel anything for Nico.

At first, yes, it was only brotherly love. Nico was only a kid when he rescued him the first time they met. And then everything with Bianca had happened, and Nico left, growing more distant by the day. There was also the incident where the Son of Hades had betrayed him, which Percy forgave long ago.

But when they were fighting Gaea, Nico was just as much a part of the team as everyone else. Nico had led his friends to the House of Hades and had fought alongside them. He risked his life just as much as the others had, all to get him and Annabeth back from Tartarus.

Percy couldn't deny to himself how much Nico had grown after that, or how powerful he had become. Nico had been in Tartarus alone, and survived. He was stronger than Percy could ever hope to be. And he did it all while being weighed down by his feelings and the fear of being rejected for who he was.

That's when brotherly love had turned into friendship. And Percy had planned on becoming the best of friends with him, but Nico had once again grown distant, avoiding him like the plague.

And then both Nico and Annabeth had left, leaving a hole in his heart that he was sure would never be filled.

" _Maybe this is how Nico's felt all his life."_

" **You're ignoring me."**

"Huh?" Percy turned around and looked at the ghost.

Nico narrowed his eyes at him. **"I don't remember you being a person that's often lost in thought. What were you thinking about, Perseus?"**

Percy returned the glare, but he didn't make a comment on Nico's choice of name for him. If he ignored it, maybe he would stop.

"I was thinking about the past." He looked ahead again. "Do you remember how cute you were back then? You were such a nerd."

Percy heard a hiss, and he wasn't sure if it was the wind or Nico. He jumped at the cold breath that touched his ear again.

" **Do you often think about how cute I am, Perseus?"**

Percy tried not to react, but internally he was freaking out, especially when two ghostly arms wrapped themselves around him. "No I don't, I just like thinking back to when you weren't such an ass."

The cold feeling on his ear grew icy, and Percy could almost imagine a tongue tracing the outer shell.

"Anyway," his voice sounded shakier than he would have liked. "What did you ask me before?"

Nico chuckled again. Percy was starting to hate that sound.

" **Nothing, the moment has passed."**

"Whatever dude."

They continued flying until nightfall. They didn't manage to get that much closer to their destination, but Percy wanted to get out of the sky, he didn't want to push his good luck. Zeus hadn't bothered him since he became friends with Jason, but it didn't mean he wouldn't make his life hell for fun.

Percy set up a small camp. He didn't need much, just a small fire so he could warm his food, and his blanket to sleep under.

He started eating and Nico took a seat on the opposite side of the fire. Even in his faded ghost form Percy could make out his black eyes, they appeared more hazel in the firelight.

"Are you gonna sit there and stare at me while I eat?" Percy asked him.

" **Is there anything else for me to do?"**

Percy shrugged and angrily stuck his fork into the can of food he was eating. He could feel Nico's eyes wandering over him, and he wondered if Nico thought he had changed much since they last saw each other.

He couldn't see there being too much of a difference. He grew his hair out a bit longer than Nico would probably remember, and yeah sure he gained a lot of muscle from all his training. But he still had his healthy tanned skin and sea green eyes.

If anything, Nico's transformation was more dramatic. He had changed drastically from the skinny boy that Percy once knew, into a tall and muscular man. He still wore a lot of black, and he still styled his wavy black hair. But there was something in his eyes, something dangerous yet beautiful.

With a start he realized that Nico reminded him more of his father, Hades, than the boy he once knew.

And he could help but feel responsible in some way, even if it wasn't entirely his fault.

"Alright, instead of sitting here and staring at each other awkwardly, how about we come up with some ideas. You know your dad, where would he put a piece of your soul?"

" **Aw… and I was having so much fun staring at you."**

Nico sounded like he was joking, but there was something in his eyes that made Percy think that he wasn't. The younger man reminded him of a lion circling its prey.

" **Never mind,"** The look was gone, replaced by an angrier one. **"My guess is he gave my soul to some of his favorite monsters to watch over. Did he say how many pieces he broke it into?"**

"He broke it into five, to represent the five stages of grief."Percy finished with his food and wrapped the blanket around himself. It really was starting to get colder out.

Nico made a sound that was less than impressed.

" **If he's going about it that way, then the first stage is denial. I bet that means the Minotaur is up first, since his father denied his existence and then locked him away in a maze."**

"Oh great…" Percy didn't like the thought of having to fight the Minotaur again. That beast had already caused him enough grief in his life. "Where do you think he is then?"

" **All the free time you had after the war and you still never bother to read up on old Greek legends? Where do you think he is, Perseus?"**

Percy shook his head, it was so damn hard to ignore the way Nico said his full name. "I don't know, I think it was on an island somewhere. I keep thinking of toilets for some reason."

" **Well you're not wrong. The island of Crete was the first place to have indoor plumbing."**

"The island of Crete? Man that's a long way." Black Jack was not going to be happy.

" **It's a few days away. But if it's too much trouble, feel free to go back to the camp. I'll just have to follow you around for the rest of your life."**

Nico smiled at him then, but it wasn't a friendly smile.

"I'm good thanks." Percy lay on his side and closed his eyes. "You take first watch; wake me up in a few hours."

It didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

For the second time in a row, he was woken up by the sun blinding him. He opened one eye and glared up at the sky, silently cursing it and its bringer, Apollo.

Percy rolled onto his back and rubbed his sleep crusted eyes. _"I hope they have hotels in Crete. It's getting too cold to sleep outside."_

When he opened them again, he almost jumped out of his skin when he saw Nico sitting right next to his head, staring at him.

"What the fuck?!" He sat up and backed himself up against the tree behind him. "How long have you been there?"

Nico didn't look fazed by his freak out.

" **All night."**

"All night? You sat there and stared at me _all night_? Why didn't you wake me up for watch?" He tried not to sound too upset, but hey, he had just been stared at all night while he slept. That's bound to rattle anyone's nerves.

" **I'm dead, Perseus. I don't need to sleep. And besides, you need to be in top fighting condition if you have any hope of completing this quest."**

Percy tried to look angry, but it just ended up turning into a pout. "Whatever man, just don't pull an Edward Cullen on me again. I have enough stress in my life."

" **Who?"**

"Edward Cullen. He's this creeper vampire who watches his love interest while she sleeps. Piper made me watch it when she was giving me relationship advice on what _not_ to do when I'm dating someone." To move away from the awkwardness, Percy started rolling his blanket up to put away.

He missed the confused look Nico gave him.

" **You talk in your sleep."**

Percy almost dropped his bag. "No I don't!"

When Nico smiled at him, he knew he was telling the truth.

"Did I say anything stupid?"

The troubled expression returned on Nico's face. Percy wondered what was making the younger man so upset.

" **No, you didn't say anything interesting."**

Percy finished packing his things and called Black Jack over, he jumped on and they took off into the sky again.

Percy tried not to think about why Nico was sitting as far away from him as possible this time.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

By the time they got to Crete, Percy was ready to have a meltdown.

Nico had been pushing him away more than he did eight years ago, but at the same time he would do something weird like touch him or come up behind him and say something in his ear.

Even though the ghost couldn't touch him, it still made him cold. And it annoyed him; Nico had no concept of personal space.

And he kept calling him by his full name, which was also starting to annoy him.

Percy regretted ever thinking he ever had feelings for the man. There was nothing redeeming about him at all anymore.

Nico was cold (excuse the pun) angry and confusing. There was nothing in him that Percy found attractive.

" _Well maybe... just… Okay, he's good looking, but that's all he has going for him."_

Percy tried not to let that thought bother him. That was the first time he had ever admitted to himself that another man was attractive.

Percy found the nearest hotel after he said his goodbyes to Black Jack and booked a room. It wasn't the best hotel, but it was somewhere warm to sleep and his room was small but accommodating.

Nico was sitting on the bed already when he walked in. The ghost looked at him, but made no other move to acknowledge his presence further.

Tired of his attitude, Percy grabbed a change of clothes out of his bag and threw it on the floor, heading into the bathroom for a long shower.

As soon as the water hit him it immediately soothed his aching muscles and rejuvenated him. He sighed and leaned his head against the tiled wall letting his body relax for a bit.

" _I can't wait until this is over and I can go back to camp and pretend this never happened."_

He washed himself and relaxed for a few more minutes before turning the water off.

When he came out of the bathroom, Nico was still on the bed, laying on his back and staring at the ceiling.

He wasn't asleep, but Percy knew he was probably lost in his thoughts like he normally was.

He picked his bag up off the floor and threw it on the small table by the window. "I'm going to go look for the Minotaur; you're welcome to come if you want."

" **You forget I have no choice in the matter."**

"Let's go then, daylight time is wasting."

Nico sat up and gave him a dirty look. **"We've been traveling for four days straight. Get some sleep and then we'll go. We don't need your back giving out in the middle of battle."**

"I'm not that old, ass hole."

Nico glided himself off the bed and took a seat on the window sill instead.

" **Go to sleep, Perseus."**

"Stop calling me that!" Percy yelled as he fell onto the bed and hid his head under the pillows.

He couldn't have slept more than a few more minutes (that's what it felt like at least) before the cold woke him up.

He was laying on his back with a pillow half over his face covering his eyes. The cold was coming from above him, and when he pushed the pillow away, he wasn't surprised to see Nico leaning over him.

"What the hell are you doing?"

" **Stop saying it."**

Percy looked at him confused. Whatever had pissed the Ghost King off, it was serious. "Saying what?"

Nico glared at him, his eyes had that same wild look that Hades often had. Percy couldn't help but feel a little afraid.

" **Stop saying my name, damn it!"**

It took a few seconds for those words to sink in, but when they did, Percy's face turned red. "I did not! Why would I say your name?"

Nico moved closer. His see-through body was already looming over him uncomfortably, but the closeness of their faces was freaking him out.

He tried to push him away but forgot that Nico was a ghost, and his hands just went right through him.

So instead he settled for glaring at him.

" **I don't care why you said it, but I want you to stop."**

And although Nico wasn't breathing air, Percy could still his freezing breath on his face.

" **You don't deserve to say my name like that."**

His eyes flicked down to look at Percy's lips, and for a brief second, Percy thought he was about to (somehow because Nico is a ghost!) get kissed. But instead of kissing him, Nico settled for growling angrily before disappearing completely out of his sight.

Percy sat up and looked over at the window where the Ghost King was sitting once again. He was avoiding Percy's eyes and looking out the foggy glass.

" **Hurry up and get ready, we're leaving."**

"Fine." Percy collected himself and then went to go find his jacket. He wasn't sure if he should be angry, embarrassed or confused about what just happened. But he did know the best way to clear his head was to go fight some monsters.

The Minotaur wouldn't stand a chance.

" _I wonder what he meant by 'I'm not allowed to say his name like that'? That doesn't even make sense."_

He pulled his jacket on and grabbed Nico's sword off of his bag. He used some rope to secure it on his back so it would be out of the way, but close by if he needed it.

Nico did his 'Ghost thing' and appeared in front of him.

" **Are you ready?"**

He still looked mad (what else is new?) but it wasn't a look that said he was going to kill innocent children any time soon, so Percy figured he was safe for now.

"Yeah, let's go kill the Minotaur."


	3. It's All Down Hill From Here

 

As it turned out, the Minotaur really wasn't happy to see Percy again.

It may have had something to do with Hades trapping him down inside a maze much like King Minos had done long ago.

Or maybe he had woken up on the wrong side of the Labyrinth.

Either way, Percy felt like he was screwed.

" **His horn isn't going to get stuck in the stone! Stop trying to use the same tactic you used last time!"**

"I know that! I was dodging him!"

" **Then stop running! If you can defeat Kronos and Gaea, I'm sure you can handle a Minotaur."**

The Minotaur snorted angrily.

" **No offense."**

Percy chose to use the temporary distraction and ran down the nearest corridor. The Minotaur hadn't waited for him to find the middle of the Labyrinth, but instead attacked him as soon as his caught the scent of his Demi-God blood.

Which meant Percy was forced to try and maneuver around in the narrow halls, barely able to doge any of the beast's attacks.

" **You're running again."**

"Stop bothering me, Nico. Not all of us have the ability to turn into a shadow. I have to deal with walls surrounding me and a bull, a very large and angry bull I might add, trying to kill me."

As if confirming just how angry he was, the Minotaur let out a huge roar that shook the walls of the maze.

Percy had to cover his ears to keep from going deaf.

He barely had time to stumble into a small circular room before the Minotaur was on him again, his head lowered in a charge.

Percy feebly raised Riptide in front of him, trying to aim for a vital part before he was slammed and pinned to a wall.

Riptide cut into the thick corded muscle on the Minotaur's neck, but it didn't go deep enough to cause any damage. If anything, it just made him madder.

The Minotaur snorted and shoved his face right against Percy's, glaring the Demi-God down. The hatred in his eyes would have made any weaker person break down in tears.

But Percy, being the genius that he was simple said, "My Gods, you're gorgeous."

" **Good job, Perseus."**

The Minotaur roared again and drew his head back, intending to impale Percy on the one horn he had left.

Percy quickly grabbed onto that horn and swung himself up on the bulls shoulders, holding on for dear life when the beast started struggling and shaking to get him off.

The Son of Poseidon reached for his powers and latched onto all the water molecules in the Minotaur's body.

The monster must have sensed something was wrong and he doubled his efforts to dislodge Percy, roaring and screaming, even smashing himself against the wall.

Percy pulled all the water out of the Minotaur's tissues and blood. The bulky bull starting shrinking before his eyes, and quickly became an emaciated skeleton, barely able to stand.

He fell to his side and Percy jumped off before he was crushed under the still large monster.

When he was sure the bull wasn't getting up again, he released the water and it hit the floor with a splash.

Now unable to move, the Minotaur whined pathetically and twitched, still trying to fight.

Percy felt horrible.

" **What just happened?"**

Nico actually look surprised.

Percy shook his head, "it's something I've been training myself to do for a while now. This is the first time I've ever used it on a living creature." He tried to stand up, but sharp pain from his ankle stopped him.

"I think he fucked up my ankle when I got slammed against the wall."

" **Did you bring any ambrosia?"**

"Umm…"

The ghost rolled his eyes and leaned himself against the wall.

" **Well I guess you'll have to suck it up until you get back to our room then."**

Percy sighed and pulled the backpack off his back. He untied Nico's sword and used it to help him to his feet.

Nico watched him with narrowed eyes. He didn't want to admit it, but Percy had grown more powerful than he would have thought possible. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to be able to control the water in someone's body like that. And there was no escaping an attack like that; everyone had water in their body.

No wonder Zeus always bitched about how powerful Percy was.

Another pathetic whine from the Minotaur drew him away from his thoughts. He watched silently as Percy limped over to the beast, saying a few quiet words to him.

Percy really did look upset by what he had done. After all the wars and the battles, he still had enough compassion to feel sorry for an enemy. That was something Nico had lost long ago, he tried not to resent Percy for being able to keep that part of himself.

"Until next time," Percy said as he raised the black blade and stabbed it through the Minotaur's heart and he disappeared in a cloud of gold dust.

Nico didn't have the guts to tell him there would be no next time. Once a monster was killed by his sword, they never came back.

They both watched as the dust gathered around the stygian blade and slowly got absorbed into the metal, making it glow white hot before turning back to black.

Percy held the sword in front of him and shrugged before settling to use it as a crutch once again, "I don't think my ankle is broken." He moved the sore appendage, wincing at the pain. "I think it's just badly sprained."

He tried not to read too much into the look Nico was giving him. The ghostly man was still leaning against the wall of the circular room, not saying anything.

Percy huffed angrily and looked around the room, noting the two exits. "So… I don't mean to make a bad situation worse, but I totally didn't bring any string down here to help guide us out."

" **How did you survive on the earth for so long?"**

"Fuck off."

It took them a total of five hours to find their way out of the Labyrinth. They could have done it in half of that, but with Percy's wrecked ankle, moving was slow.

By the time they got back to their room, Percy was covered with sweat from the pain, and was barely able to walk. And Nico was a lot angrier than the usual which was saying a lot.

Percy barely managed to sit down on the bed and swallow a mouthful of ambrosia before Nico turned on him, his anger explosive.

" **Why the hell would you not bring that with you? You knew you were going into battle. Why do you claim to be so smart and then do something stupid like that?"**

Nico hovered in front of him, his height making him look even more intimidating.

Seeing how angry Nico was made something inside Percy snap, "if you want to talk about stupid things, how about we talk about why you were in Tartarus again?" He didn't raise his voice, instead keeping a calm and serious tone.

" **This isn't about me, Perseus—"**

"Yes it is, Nico!" Percy jumped to his feet, ignoring the shooting pain in his ankle and glared at the Ghost King. "This whole fucking thing is about you. You're the reason I'm here in the first place! Why did you go into Tartarus again? What reason could you possibly have to go back there?"

Nico backed away from him.

" **It's—"**

"If you say it's none of my business, I WILL throw your sword in the ocean and leave it there."

Nico's anger dissipated a bit, but he still looked pissed. He was torn between telling the furious Water Prince the truth and keeping his dignity.

" **I needed something."**

Percy sat back down on the bed and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for him to continue.

Nico drifted over to the small dining table and placed himself on top of it.

" **I needed something from the river Lethe. It's something that only exists in a select part of the river."**

"The part that's in Tartarus I presume?" Percy sighed, "What could you possibly want to forget so badly that you would risk going there again?"

Nico's anger returned again, his cold gaze reminding Percy too much of Hade's glare.

" **I don't know, Perseus. What possible reason could I have for wanting to wipe out my memories?"**

"If you're making some snarky comment about your past feelings toward me, I know that's a lie. Your dad already told me you were over me."

" **It's not about you!"**

Percy wasn't convinced. "Are you sure? Because the way you've been treating me lately suggests otherwise."

" **I wanted to forget I'm gay! There, are you happy now?"**

Nico swung his hand at the table, knocking off a few items in his anger.

Both men watched the stuff hit the floor in amazement, before Nico growled and disappeared in a swirl of black smoke.

Percy looked down at the floor as his mind started racing. Nico must have a bit of his soul back if he was able to touch things in his ghostly form. So at least he knew what they were doing was helping.

But Nico's revelation was troubling.

Percy couldn't understand why Nico would want to forget about being gay. It was a part of who he was, and he doubted no item or amount of swimming in the river Lethe could change that.

He groaned and fell back onto the bed, his exhausted body was demanding sleep, and Percy was too tired to argue anymore.

He would figure this thing out with Nico after he could think properly.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Of course, his dreams had other ideas.

As he stood facing some kind of monster he couldn't properly make out, (because that's how dreams worked) he couldn't help but feel that something was about to go horribly wrong.

He looked to his left, his eyes meeting Nico's.

The ghost looked more like a real live person at that point. He was still see-through, but there was a solidness to him that wasn't natural.

" **The last one, are you ready, Perseus?"**

Nico's voice was distant, the way it always was in dreams, and Percy was having hard time focusing on him. So he nodded, hoping that would be answer enough for him.

Nico smiled at him then, and Percy knew he was blushing. That was no friendly smile he was receiving, it was a smile that promised there would be clothes being ripped off later.

Percy had never imagined what it would feel like to have the Son of Hades look at him like that, but he found he kind of liked it.

Without telling his body to, he was suddenly running at the monster, Riptide raised in his right hand in front of him and Nico's sword in his left.

Percy was moving in slow motion as he ran, but the monster seemed to be moving at full speed, easily dodging around him and running for Nico who was defenceless behind him.

He wasn't even able to turn himself around when he heard a horrible, hair raising scream as the monster ripped Nico apart.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Percy's eyes flew open.

He sat up and wiped the sweat off his forehead, his whole body shaking.

' _It was a dream. It was a dream, Percy. Nico's still alive, you're still alive. The world is still turning.'_

He jumped a foot in the air as cold fingers brushed his cheek.

"Fuck, Nico! Don't touch me when I'm having a panic attack!" He shooed Nico's hand away (trying not to touch him) and lay back on the bed. He tried to get his breathing and heart rate back to normal, but that was proving difficult when Nico was leaning over him looking at him like he was concerned.

"What?"

" **You were screaming in your sleep."**

Percy slapped a hand over his face, "Oh yay, I'm glad my nightmares terrify me enough to make me scream out loud."

" **I'd rather make you scream in another way."**

Percy barely heard it, but he still knew what Nico said, "Why do you do that?" He moved his hand and looked up at the ghost who was regarding him with interest.

" **Do what?"**

"That sexual innuendo thing. You say you want to forget the fact you're gay, and deny whatever you feel, and then you go and do something like hit on me or make comments like that."

Nico looked away from him, he didn't appear angry but Percy knew that could change on a dime.

" **I was tired of being stuck where I was."**

"Stuck?" Percy asked him. "How were you stuck?"

Nico frowned, he looked conflicted.

" **You're a lucky person, Perseus. Even after Annabeth left you, you were able to move on and try to find someone else. I'm not like that."**

He paused and looked at Percy who was waiting patiently for him to continue.

" **My father was correct in saying that I was over you. I was over the fact that you would never return my feelings, so I went back to the underworld and learn to deal with the fact that I would be alone for the rest of my life. Because unlike you, I can't give my heart away to anyone else, it wouldn't be fair to them; I just wouldn't be in it."**

Now Percy looked surprised, but he remained silent so Nico could continue.

" **That's why I'm so angry with you, Perseus. I couldn't move on and give my heart to another, so I hoped that if I completely forgot that I was gay, I might be able to move on. I was willing to risk everything, that's how much you torment me."**

"Nico…"

" **I know this still won't change things later, and that's okay. After I'm revived I'll go back to the Underworld, and I won't go back to Tartarus. I don't want Dad to come and bother you again."**

"You're doing it again." Percy said sharply.

Nico raised an eyebrow.

" **Doing what?"**

"You're cutting me off before I can answer, and then assuming the worst when you don't give me enough time to reply." Percy sat up and went to lay a hand on Nico's shoulder, but of course it passed right through.

"All those years ago, you never let me tell you my answer."

" **That's because I knew your answer."**

Nico's voice rose slightly, but he still wasn't at explosive anger mode.

"You know what they say about 'assuming'. Would it really be so surprising to think that I might have had feelings toward you too?" He stopped to allow his words to sink in.

"I just never thought about it until you confessed your feelings. And at first yes, I was a little confused, but I was mostly angry because you shouldered all of that for so long without telling me. You said we were friends, and then you went and hid something big like that from me."

Nico turned away, looking guilty now.

"After knowing me for as long as you did, did you really think I could ever be disgusted with you?" He asked him quietly. "There must have been some reason you were in love with me. I must have been a good guy to make you feel like that toward me."

Percy fell silent and waiting for Nico to say something. He tried not to fidget as the minutes dragged on, and for a brief second he thought that Nico had fallen asleep or something.

Which would be really uncool.

" **You mean to say… I went and sulked for all these years, when really you had feelings for me this whole time?"**

"Well, I guess," said Percy. "I'm still not really sure what I feel for you, but I know it's there."

When Nico looked at him, he was expecting some expression of happiness, but instead he looked furious.

" **I need to think alone for a while."**

And then he was gone again.

"Note to self: When Nico has a solid body; don't do anything to piss him off unless you want to be punched through a wall."

He sighed, he was still exhausted from his fight, and the after images from his dream were still worrying him.

Percy slowly got to his feet and shuffled himself into the bathroom. His ankle was still sore, but it wasn't unbearable. He tuned the water on and got in the shower, the water immediately rejuvenated him, getting rid of all his aches and pain.

He probably stood there for an hour. All of his scratches and bruises from the previous battle were now gone, and his ankle was actually able to hold his weight. Percy turned the water off and pulled back the curtains.

Coming face to face with Nico.

Letting out a not too manly scream, Percy jumped back and grabbed the shower curtain, wrapping it around him like a dress.

Nico's grumpy expression gave way to a delighted smirk.

Percy wanted to throw something at him.

"Can I help you?"

Nico shrugged.

" **Not really, I'm just taking in the sights of Crete."**

"Fuck off, you pervert."

Nico cackled and disappeared again.

Percy couldn't help but feel things were only going to get worse.

 


	4. All These Feels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting to the end of the chapters I have finished. Just a heads up, I write a new chapter every weekend and I always update my fanfiction.net account first. I'll try to remember to update this one too, but I'm still new to this website, so give me time to get use to it.
> 
> But other than that, enjoy~!

Percy spent the next few days recovering from his fight and trying to ignore Nico who had become very fond of pestering him. Now that the mischievous ghost could touch things when putting in some effort, he made it his personal obligation to bother the hell out of Percy as much as possible.

He even went as far as putting a white sheet over his head and following him around the small hotel room.

It got old fast, especially when all Percy wanted to do was make a damn sandwich and watch some bad TV.

"Dude, come on. How old are you?" He asked Nico, who was currently blocking his view of the TV with the damn sheet still over his head.

Nico's concentration must have broken or something, because the sheet feel right through him to land on the floor and Nico fixed him with an amused expression.

" **I'm twenty two, Perseus. Don't kill my mood; I haven't been this close to being alive in a long time."**

Percy wasn't dumb. He knew there was something else that had put the Ghost King in such a chipper mood. After Percy had announced he may, possibly, sort of, kind of, just a little maybe had feelings for him; Nico hadn't been able to sit still.

Percy still wasn't sure exactly what those feelings were, but a month was a long time, hopefully he would have them figure out by then.

"I'm just saying you need to chill. And please get out of my way; I want to know what Joanna is going to do now that she knows Sean is cheating on her."

Nico turned from Percy to look at the TV behind him.

" **Really? You find these kinds of shows amusing?"**

"When there's nothing else on, I do."

Nico silently drifted away from the TV and perched himself on the back of the couch beside Percy.

They watched the TV together, the only vocalization coming from Percy when he got mad at one of the characters, or when the show was interrupted with commercials.

Nico slowly moved closer until he was sitting right next to Percy. He paid no attention to the TV, and instead stared intently at the Sea Prince. He observed him, taking in every one of Percy's expressions, the way his lips twitched when he was amused, or the way his brow furrowed when he was angry.

Percy completely ignored him, almost forgetting Nico was there.

That was, until he felt cold fingers brush his cheek.

"What are you doing?" Percy turned to look at the ghost, who drew his fingers back.

" **I wanted to see if I could touch you."**

Percy tried not to move away as the fingers came back, brushing over his cheeks leaving an icy feeling behind.

Nico's eyes were half lidded, but Percy could tell he was concentrating hard.

" **You're warm."**

"And you're freezing." Percy replied, still not moving when the fingers moved lower to trace his lips.

The TV was momentarily forgotten as Nico continued to feel his face.

This was the first time since Nico's ghost appeared that Percy was able to really get a good look at him. When he was younger, Percy had remembered looking at Nico thinking the kid was too skinny. His cheeks were hollowed out and the black circles under his eyes had made him look like the skeletons he summoned.

But this older, more mature Nico was different. Even though his color was faded in his ghost form, Percy could tell Nico had somehow regained the olive skin he had before running off to the underworld. The shadows under his eyes were gone as far as he could tell, making Nico look so much more grown up. Not to mention, the muscle mass Nico had gained. Whatever workout routine he had, it was working.

He almost matched Percy in muscle mass now.

Damn him.

" **You're staring at me."**

Percy blinked, he had zoned out again. His face turned red when he realized Nico was smirking at him. No man should be allowed to be that attractive.

Instead of saying that though, he stupidly replied, "you stare at me all the time, while I'm sleeping too."

Nico neither confirmed nor denied that fact. His smirk just widened further as Percy's blush continued to deepen.

Percy stuttered and looked away so Nico couldn't see his face. "You're lucky we're not kids anymore, or I would be an ass and start calling you Death Breath again."

Nico's deep chuckle did not at all make a shiver run down his spine.

" **But we're not kids anymore are we, Perseus?"**

Cold fingers cupped his chin, and much to his amazement Percy felt his face being turned toward Nico's. He was getting good at touching things.

" **We're both grown men here, even though the 'growing' part maybe only applied to me. Your mom was short too though; the genes of the gods can't fix everything I suppose."**

"Are you calling me short?"

Nico was still smirking at him, and Percy wanted nothing more than to run and hide under a rock. The smug bastard, of course he had to be taller than him. Curse his lanky Italian genes.

The annoying ghost moved his face closer, but Percy stood his ground, not wanting to back out of a fight.

" **Don't worry, Perseus. I find it adorable."**

They were close enough to kiss now. Nico's cold breath washed over his face, cooling down his heated cheeks.

"Don't call me Perseus," Percy couldn't move away. Half of him was hoping that Nico would just kiss him already. The other half wanted to punch him in his smirking see-through face.

But Nico moved away instead and glided to the other side of the couch.

Percy shook his head and turned back to the TV.

His show was over, and he had no idea what happened!

He looked over at Nico who was smiling and looking proud of himself.

The bastard…

"You distracted me on purpose so I wouldn't see the end, didn't you?"

" **Their drama was pissing me off; I needed to take drastic measures."**

Percy picked up the remote and flicked through the channels. "You're an asshole." He flicked through a few more channels before he found the one with all the wedding shows.

" **What are you doing?"**

Nico wasn't smiling anymore, and Percy tried not to laugh at his almost comically confused expression. This was his moment to be a badass!

"I'm going to get something to eat." He stood up and stretched before putting the TV remote in his sweater pocket. "I'll leave your sword here; I don't want it to get scratched or something. I'll be back in an hour or so."

Nico had obviously caught on to what he was planning.

" **I'll just turn the TV off, your revenge plan sucks."**

Percy shrugged, "well until you learn how to turn the TV off, I guess you'll be stuck with that channel."

" **Perseus—"**

"Bye, Neeks!" Percy yelled as he ran out the door.

He knew Nico could follow him at least as far as outside of the room, so he ran down the hall almost smashing into one of the housecleaners.

Crete wasn't anything like New York, but it did have a few nice places to grab something to eat. So Percy took his time and enjoyed himself, knowing he was probably going to have to face a pissed off Ghost King when he returned.

Just thinking of how upset Nico had been at the thought of watching girly shows made him cackle out loud.

After thirty minutes had past, Percy decided that Nico had probably been through enough torture and he made his way back to the hotel.

By then it was mid-day, and the streets were busy with a tour of some sorts. Percy tried to stay out of their way, but the streets were narrow and it was hard to avoid them.

Out of habit, he kept his hand in his pocket, ready to take out Riptide at any moment. This was the most dangerous part of the world for Demi-Gods to be in after all. He was amazed he hadn't gotten run out of his hotel by monsters yet.

He was almost out of the crowd when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Percy?!"

" _Fuck, really?"_

He turned and his heart sank when the familiar face of Annabeth appeared. She jogged over to him, her golden curls bouncing with every step.

She hadn't changed much. Her eyes were still a steely gray, her hair was still perfect and blond, and she still had that aura around her that always drew Percy in. She had been everything to him at one point, and for a brief second, he remembered what it felt like to be with her, and he  _missed_ it.

"Hey, Annabeth."

She threw herself into his arms and he hugged her back, trying not to be too obvious when he let go and backed away as fast as he could.

"What are you doing here, Seaweed Brain? Don't you know these parts are dangerous?"

Percy tried not to make a comment about her dress clothes. He was just so used to seeing her wearing jeans and an orange camp T-shirt. "I could say the same to you," he replied.

She rolled her eyes like she always did when she was amused by how dumb he was.

Percy hadn't known how much it bothered him until now.

"Don't worry about me. I'm here with good friends; we look out for each other." She gestured to a few unfamiliar Demi-Gods who were standing not too far away. "We're here to look at some of the architecture here, it's nothing compared to other parts of the world, but it's not bad."

"That's cool." Percy wasn't really sure of what to say. When had it become so hard to talk to her?

"Maybe if you're sticking around we can grab a coffee or something?" She asked him then, and Percy tried not to sound too standoffish.

"I'm good, thanks. I have someone waiting for me to get back. I'll talk to you later." He tried to wave goodbye, but she pulled him in for another hug.

With a pang of annoyance he realized she was just as tall as him. When had everyone become taller or the same height as him?

"Maybe another time then, I'll catch you later." She pecked him on the cheek before returning to her friends.

He waved one last time and then booked it back to the hotel. There was no poor housecleaner to run into this time thankfully, and he made it back to his room without further incident.

Just as he walked in and closed the door behind him, he was suddenly slammed against it by an unseen force.

"Ouch! What the hell?" Percy opened his eyes and came face to face with a very angry Nico.

" **Perseus…"**

"Yep, that's my name, but I also go by the name Percy. You should try using it some time." He rubbed the back of his head, not at all concerned when Nico growled lowly and used his new found ability to push him harder against the door with his cold body.

He knew if he pushed hard enough he could probably escape. Nico wasn't solid after all, but he didn't care, it was either this or fight for the next few hours.

The TV was visible through the angry spirit and Percy tried not to laugh when he saw that the wedding channel was still on.

" **Perseus…"**

Cold fingers lifted his chin up so that he was looking right at Nico's face. His good mood was instantly gone when he registered the fact that Nico was at least a foot taller than him.

"You deserved it."

Nico narrowed his eyes at him and Percy sighed.

"Look, if you're going to kiss me or punch me, do it. But after you've got your revenge, maybe we should start talking about the next piece of soul we have to get."

He didn't tell Nico about Annabeth's sudden appearance, or the reason he wanted to leave was because of her. He hoped Nico wouldn't catch on and would provide them with a plan so they could just leave.

When the ghost narrowed his eyes further, he knew that Nico had caught on to his mood. But he didn't comment on it.

Instead he floated away from him and went back to his spot on the windowsill.

Percy groaned, still rubbing the back of his head and he dragged his feet over to the bed and collapsed on it.

" **The Chimera is nearby. I guarantee she's one of the five. I can imagine her level of hatred is high after everything that's happened to her."**

"Where is she at then?" Percy's voice was muffled by the bed, but Nico could still make him out.

" **Antalya, Turkey."**

"Man, now I'm hungry again." Percy grumbled as he rolled over onto his back.

" **Didn't you just eat?"**

"I'm sorry for having a black hole for a stomach." He jumped as Nico reappeared over him with the cold air that always followed him.

" **I can offer you a pomegranate if you'd like?"**

Percy didn't know how that would solve anything. He didn't understand what the fruit of the underworld could do for a Son of Poseidon.

Nico leaned closer, the smirk from earlier that day back once again.

" **Don't worry, I'd only let you have a couple of bites. Then you would be able to come back to the surface world for a few months to see your friends again."**

"Oh?" He vaguely remembered something about eating food in Hades' realm, and how it was bad for you.

" **But as soon as those few months ran out, I'd drag you back down to the underworld."**

Then Nico leaned down and Percy could feel the cold pressure of lips on his cheek. They were kissing the exact same spot that Annabeth had only shortly before.

Percy moved his face to the side and Nico startled, losing his concentration, and his form went back to being mist.

"I should get some sleep before we head out. We'll catch the nine o'clock ferry tonight." Percy rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes. He tried to ignore the painful beating of his heart, but he couldn't stop thinking of the disappointed expression on Nico's face.

He didn't like to reject the specter, but he couldn't think clearly with Annabeth so close. He needed to get away from the island.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Once they took the ferry back to Athens, Percy rented a car and they were on the road again.

If Nico was surprised that Percy knew how to drive, he didn't show it. In fact, he hadn't shown any emotion since they left the hotel the night before. It had been a long nine hour ferry ride, and Percy had dozed off for most of it.

But now that they were stuck together in a small space, they were practically forced to socialize. And Percy was determined to get Nico talking again, and maybe if he was brave enough, he would apologize for the night before.

" **Something happened when you left the hotel room yesterday, didn't it?"**

Well there went that idea.

Percy glanced at Nico out of the corner of his eye, but the ghost was too busy melting the window with his glare to pay any attention to Percy.

"Not really," Percy said in the least guilty voice he could manage. "I just… I don't know. Something happened and I kind of freaked out."

" **If the idea of having feelings for me repulses you, just say it. I don't like to be lead on, Perseus."**

"I never said that,  _di Angelo_. You are such a damn drama queen. It's like I'm dating a woman, seriously."

Nico looked at him then.

" **We're not dating."**

"I don't think that's the part of that statement you should be upset about."

When Nico went quiet again, Percy sighed loudly and banged his head against the headrest on his seat. "Look, I ran into Annabeth yesterday. I know it's like the Gods hate me or something. Anyway, we talked and it just freaked me out."

" **Freaked you out?"**

"Yeah," Percy continued. "It was almost depressing how fast I realized that Annabeth is not and never will be the one for me. She's just so… condescending. Sure I miss the good times, but I'm over her. I just panicked when I came to that conclusion so fast."

When he glanced over at Nico again, he was looking at him.

"I don't know why, but I feel like everything is just easier around you. I know we fight and bicker a lot, but it's fun. I couldn't even talk to her, I had no interest in what she was even doing there, and all I could think about was getting back to our room so I could hang out with you."

He paused before adding, "I don't know why, but it just feels better being with you."

" **Stop the car."**

Percy tried not to flinch at how angry Nico sounded. "Why?"

Not that he thought Nico could kill him, but his tone said otherwise, so he wasn't going to take any chances.

" **Just pull the damn thing over."**

Reluctantly, Percy did as he was told.

As soon as the car was put in park, cold fingers were on his face, turning him toward Nico.

"Wha—"

But he was cut off by the cold pressure of lips against his own.

It lasted only a few seconds before Nico lost his control on his solid form and the kiss ended, but it was enough.

Percy felt his face warm up and he briefly wondered if him blushing around Nico was going to become a regular occurrence.

" **Perseus."**

"Yes?"

And Nico was kissing him again.

He was starting to like the way Nico said his name.


	5. Like Water on Rock

For the rest of the drive to Antalya, Nico stayed secluded to his side of the vehicle. They chatted easily and discussed a plan of action, all the awkwardness from before completely gone.

But Percy could feel the intensity of Nico's eyes on him. He avoided looking at the ghost at all costs, not wanting to turn into a sputtering and blushing mess.

He had kissed a guy.

He, Percy Jackson, had locked lips with another man.

Well a dead man, but it still counted, right?

They drove until it was well past sunset, and by the time Percy pulled the car over, he was yawning. He parked the car far away from the side of the road, trying to hide it from view as best as he could. "We can drive the rest of the ten hours tomorrow. Are you going to keep watch tonight?"

" **It's not like I can sleep, Perseus. Get some rest; you'll be the one fighting the battle tomorrow."**

And without another word, Nico levitated through the car roof and disappeared.

Percy moved the seat back into a semi laying down position and tried to get comfortable. "Wake me up if anything happens."

He closed his eyes, trying to get his mind to settle down, but it was still racing. He kept telling Nico that his feelings weren't set yet, and that he still needed to go slow. But the problem was, he didn't know if that was the case anymore.

He genuinely felt attracted to Nico, and had found himself checking the other man out way more than was appropriate (even if he was dead and still kind of a ghost). But did that necessarily mean he… loved him?

No. Not yet.

He still had a little ways to go. He liked Nico, he like his grumpy attitude and the way he would half smirk when he was amused by something. He liked talking to Nico, since they both had things in common, and he felt confident in being himself around the surly ghost.

But all these things were fine as they were who's to say the Ghost King wouldn't turn into a completely different person when he regained his life? Would he still feel the same?

He must have lain awake for hours, because when Nico called out to him, he felt like he had barely slept at all.

" **Perseus, something is coming toward us!"**

Percy groaned and sat up, his hand already wrapping tightly around Riptide in his pocket. He stumbled out of the car and clicked the pen, holding it out in front of him. "Where?"

The open area around them was silent.

Riptide gave off a faint glow, barely lighting the area, but he couldn't see anything, nor hear anything.

Nico appeared beside him.

" **I saw it approaching from the east, over that plain there."**

He gestured to the wide open field in the distance.

Percy squinted his eyes, but either Nico could see really well in the dark, or there was nothing there. "Can you still see it?" He asked him.

" **No, I'm not sure where it went. I looked away when I went to wake you up, and now it's gone."**

"Could it be the Chimera?"

Nico shook his head.

" **The Chimera lives in the mountains. It wouldn't come down to a place like this where it's vulnerable."**

Percy's reflexes suddenly kicked in and he dodged to the side, barely escaping being skewered by the monster that had appeared behind him.

He stepped back, trying to lure it away from the car. The moonlight finally illuminated it and revealed a very angry Manticore.

The grotesque creature had the face of a man and the body of a lion with a tail of a scorpion. It flicked its stinger around, looking disappointed that it hadn't stung its prey.

Percy scanned the area, looking for some water to drown it in, but the only source came from a spring a mile away. He didn't want to drain the creature, it took too much energy and he needed to keep his strength up when he faced the Chimera.

The Manticore lunged at him, its tail pulled back to strike.

Percy side stepped, almost getting caught in the monsters claws. He hacked at it as it passed, aiming for the tail, but Riptide missed and instead sliced into the monsters flank.

It howled and hissed, its eyes fixing on Percy with a renewed burning intensity.

" **Don't bother trying to cut its tail off, just go for the heart."**

"Yeah because that's easier said than done."

When the Manticore ran at him again Percy also charged. Quicker than it could follow, Percy used its face for leverage as he flipped himself onto its back and stabbed Riptide into its hide, going for the heart.

The Manticore roared and bucked wildly, trying to get Percy off. But unlike the Minotaur, the Manticore had long feline-like arms that were good for grabbing onto things.

Percy cried out as he was ripped off of the monsters back, it claws sliced into his side and blood spilled onto the ground below at an alarming rate.

The Manticore slammed him and pinned him to the ground, its claws digging into his chest to keep him still. The tail came into view, its stinger poised and ready to finish the job.

Percy scrambled for his pocket, almost laughing out loud when his fingers curled around his trusty pen, which had returned to his pocket. He clicked it and struck, the Celestial bronze sinking deep into the Manticore's heart.

It howled one last time before disappearing into a crumbling pile of dust.

With a groan, Percy dropped Riptide to the ground and lay there, too sore to move. His side was still bleeding badly and his chest wasn't in the best of shape either.

" **Perseus."**

Nico's form appeared overhead and Percy tried not to laugh at how upset he looked.

"Heeeyyy… I killed it." Then he giggled, not able to contain his mirth when Nico narrowed his eyes at him.

" **We need to get you to the water; you're losing a lot of blood."**

"Really? Is that why I feel so light headed?" He wanted to laugh again, but he didn't want to piss Nico off anymore. So instead he rolled over and tried to get to his feet, which proved to be a difficult task.

After standing on his unsteady feet and almost passing out twice, he finally managed to drag himself to the car.

Once he was sitting in the seat, he took a blanket from the back seat and made it into a makeshift bandage, trying to stop the bleeding as best as he could.

Nico appeared in the passenger's seat, still looking worried.

"It's fine, Neeks, if we get back on the road and drive for another fifteen minutes, we'll come to a bridge that has lots of water under it. I'm sure I can keep it together until then." He turned the car on and hit the gas, ignoring the worried glances Nico continued to send him.

It was the longest fifteen minutes of his life; Percy decided when they finally reached the bridge. Nico had to keep touching him to keep him awake, and the blood had already soaked through his handmade bandage.

"Maybe I should have brought Jason along at least," Percy mumbled as he struggled to get out of the car.

Luckily the bridge side rails were wide enough for him to squeeze through without much effort. He waved at Nico before letting himself fall backwards and plummet into the water.

The water immediately went to work, closing the wounds on his body to stop the bleeding and rejuvenate his energy.

He let out a content (underwater) sigh and closed his eyes, allowing the water to do its work. He hovered there, regaining his strength until the water started to lighten up with the rising sun.

He stretched, testing how much his body had recovered. Besides a dull ache in his side where the worst wound had been, he felt pretty good, so he swam to the surface and climbed onto the shore.

He untied the blanket from around him and willed the water away, leaving him dry and warm.

Nico was still on the bridge with the car, not able to go too far with his sword still inside. But Percy could tell he was relieved when he smiled.

"Have I really been down there that long?" He called out as he started to climb up the small hill and onto the bridge.

" **You've been down there for hours, I thought you were dead. I was about to ask Dad to search the underworld for your soul."**

Percy smiled and laughed as he finally made it back, "I'm glad you have such faith in me."

Nico reached out and cupped his chin.

" **I'm sorry that I see you more as a human than as a God, Perseus. I worry for you, you're not invincible."**

Now Percy was starting to feel warm for a whole other reason as Nico continued to stare at him with that look in his eyes.

He waved Nico's hand away but the ghost quickly leaned down and kissed him on the cheek before he could get away.

Percy laughed nervously and ran quickly to the driver's side of the car, trying his best to hide his blush.

Nico was already in the passenger's seat when he opened the door and sat down.

" **Why is your face so red, Perseus?"**

Percy started the car and avoided Nico's face, "shut up."

For the rest of the ten hour drive to Antalya they didn't see any other monsters. Percy was very grateful, he didn't want to admit it out loud, but he was still tired from his last fight. The long drive gave him more time to rest, even though what he really needed was a long nap.

He wasn't planning on resting until he took the Chimera out. After she was gone and they had another piece of Nico's soul in hand, then Percy would sleep for at least three days straight.

And he would eat, a lot.

And maybe watch some bad TV to annoy Nico.

Nico didn't like this plan at all (of course) he wanted Percy to fully recover before going after the monster, but Percy ignored him. The quicker they got it over with, the better.

So after a quick stop at a small convenience store to grab some energy drinks, they drove back out of the city, to the area where Nico claimed the Chimera would be.

Turkey was a mountainous area anyway, but Percy couldn't get over just how crazy it became further out. The twists and turns of the road were almost making him dizzy as they continued to climb in altitude.

With only a few hours left of daylight, they finally stopped the car in a less secluded part of the country and started hiking up the mountain side on foot.

" **On the other side of this mountain is a small valley where she used to live in ancient times. Even though this area has changed a lot, I can guarantee that where she returned to."**

"Sounds good to me," Percy said as he downed his last energy drink. "You just lead the way, Neeks." He grinned when Nico glared at him.

" **Is calling me Neeks your revenge for me calling you Perseus?"**

Percy shrugged, "well I was gonna call you Buttercup, but I think Neeks suits you better."

Nico rolled his eyes and drifted away from him to take the lead.

The terrain soon turned from walkable to unbearable, Percy was starting to regret not resting before the upcoming battle.

The rocky mountainside was very unstable, and Percy had to catch himself several times to keep from falling off the side. There was no way he was going to be able to sneak up on the Chimera that was for sure.

Meanwhile, Nico floated silently over the ground without any trouble. Every once in a while he would turn around to smirk at him.

"Come on, Neeks. Slow down, I can't keep up." Percy was started to contemplate taking Nico's sword off his belt and throwing it down into the valley below and leaving it there.

Nico ignored him and started moving down the hill.

Percy skittered down after him, trying not to fall and break his neck. But with the increasing darkness, he didn't see the end of the cliff approaching and he walked right off it.

He yelped and fell onto the ground below, almost landing on his face.

Thankfully it wasn't a huge drop.

" **We're here."**

Percy groaned and stood up, brushing the dirt off his jeans. "Where's here?"

Nico pointed behind him and Percy spun around, almost jumping out of his skin when he saw the Chimera laying behind him.

She was resting inside a small cave, and she had obviously been half way through eating her meal when they showed up. She looked as surprised as they were, the chuck of whatever animal she was eating fell out of her mouth and hit the ground with a loud 'thump'.

"Why did you bring me right to her? I don't even have my sword out."

" **I'm sorry; I didn't think she would be right here."**

The Chimera stood slowly, as if sizing Percy up before she pounced. When she fully emerged from the cave, Percy got a good look at her. She had the head and body of a lion with a second head that looked like some kind of evil goat. She also had a tail, but it was made of what looked to be a snake, the snake's head was at the end, and it too was looking at Percy.

For something so terrifying, Percy couldn't deny she was beautiful, in a horrific sort of way.

She continued to approach, her hair standing on end.

"So how do we kill this thing?" Percy asked as he back away and drew his sword.

" **Well… In the legend, Bellerphon stuck a piece of lead in her mouth and when she breathed fire it melted into her stomach and killed her."**

"She breathes fire?!"

Though Percy would have found out for himself first hand anyway as the Chimera drew a breath and a stream of flames shot out from her open maw.

Percy tried to jump back, but the cliff dropped off behind him, so instead he ended up tumbling off the side.

When he finally stopped rolling down the hill he jumped back on his feet just as the Chimera pounced. He dodged her and ran, not knowing what else to do.

" **Well at least you dodged the flames."**

"Stop laughing at me and tell me how to kill her!" He said quickly as he dodged another torrent of flames. "Where am I going to find something to melt down her throat? Are you sure you can't just stab her?"

" **Her skin is too tough, not even Riptide would be able to break through it. Why can't you use that ability from before and steal all her water?"**

Percy slid down the hill to avoid another blow. "I can't, it takes too much energy, and she's bigger than the Minotaur, it might kill me before it works."

Nico didn't look impressed.

" **I wish you would have told me that, Perseus. I was counting on you being able to do it. That's why I didn't tell you to bring any lead."**

"Well I'll remember to let you know next time, but what do we do until then?" Percy turned and jabbed at the Chimera's head with Riptide.

The sword bounced harmlessly off her skin and Percy started running again.

He needed to think of something.

He glanced around as he continued to run, looking for something, or anything that could help him kill the Chimera. But all that was available were rocks and dust, there wasn't a hint of metal in sight, and there was no way he was going to melt Riptide down.

"Nico, you're the earth expert, what happens to rocks when they're heated up?"

The Chimera blew another wave of fire at him, and he dodged behind a larger rock. The rock heated quickly and turned bright red.

" **Well like you're seeing now, it just turns red. Some of them melt and some of them explode."**

"Explode?"

" **Yes, but that only happens when they're cooled down quickly."**

"Like with water?"

The Chimera jumped over the rock and landed in front of them, her claws kneading into the ground below her.

Percy searched for water, anything that he could find. The closest source he could sense was under the earth itself. It would take a few minutes for him to draw it, but it would give him plenty of time to find a rock big enough to fit the Chimera's mouth.

He rolled sideways as the Chimera lunged at him again and continued sliding down the mountain side, drawing the water to him.

There were tons of rocks all around, but he needed one that he could lift and shove into her mouth. His eyes spotted the perfect one and he ran for it, the Chimera sprinting behind him.

He grabbed the rock and pulled it from the ground.

The Chimera opened her mouth to engulf him in flames just as he turned around and shoved it in between the jaws of the lion head. He pulled his hands back, accidently slicing his right arm open on one of her sharp fangs. But he ignored the pain and backed away from her as far as he could.

The Chimera struggled to get the rock out. She must have remembered her experience from the last time she was killed because she didn't immediately breathe flames again.

For a moment, Percy didn't believe his plan was going to work, but then her anger gave way to fear and she let out a huge bellow of flames, turning the rock red hot.

"Now!"

Percy sent a stream of water out of the ground, hitting her directly in the face. He had just enough time to fling himself behind another rock before there was a huge explosion.

His ears started ringing; he didn't expect it to be so loud, so he hadn't bothered to cover his ears.

Nico appeared in front of him, smiling and saying something, but Percy had to motion to his head.

"I can't hear right now, give me a sec."

He peeked his head over the rock, not surprised to see the Chimera lying on the ground. He couldn't see the lion face from where he was, but he had no doubt that it wasn't pretty.

Percy shook his head and pulled Nico's sword from out from where it was secured at his waist. As he approached the Chimera's body it finally turned to dust.

The dust gathered around the stygian blade, turning it white hot once again before fading away.

"Well, for as fucked as we were before, it didn't turn out too bad."

He couldn't make out whatever Nico was saying. "What?"

Nico scowled at him and then grabbed him, feeling more solid than ever.

Percy allowed himself to be pulled into the ghost still freezing arms, letting out a content sigh as he felt cold lips kiss their way down his neck.

It still felt like if he pushed too hard, he would fall right through Nico's form, but it more solid than before. That was good; it meant Nico was getting better.

He continued to lean against Nico, letting his body relax until the ringing in his ears died down.

" **You're bleeding again, Perseus."**

He felt a cold finger trial down his injured arm.

"Well at least I'm not missing the arm." Percy mumbled. He was tired now that the adrenalin was wearing off. A hot shower and a warm bed sounded exactly like what he needed right now.

He pulled away from Nico and strapped the sword back on his belt. "Come on, it's dark and I want to go to sleep. Do you think you can find the car again?"

Nico smirked.

" **You don't have a good sense of direction, do you?"**

"Not on land I don't." He shooed Nico away, following after him when the ghost started moving back up the hill.

He watched Nico move silently in front of him, his eyes continually being drawn lower, as much as he tried to look elsewhere.

Why did Nico always have to wear tight pants?

" **Stop looking at my ass, Perseus."**


	6. Interrogation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing much happens in this chapter. Just some fluff.
> 
> A lot of fluff actually...

Percy groaned into his pillow, determined to not wake up.

He wasn't sure how long he had been sleeping, but from the way his body felt like shit, he guessed no less than two days.

His barely conscious mind was aware of the cold spot next to him. Nico was no doubt watching him while he slept again. Somewhere in his brain he thought that was creepy, but he really didn't want to think about it too hard.

The poor guy didn't have anything else to do, so he didn't blame him.

Percy rolled over, turning his back to the cold and tried to drift off again.

As always, his dreams were more like nightmares. Many images flashed in front of him. Some he had seen before, and some he didn't recognize.

His first game of Capture the Flag when his dad claimed him. Grover in a ridiculous dress, talking sweetly to a Cyclops. Annabeth and her steal gray eyes burning intensely at him. The first time he saw Nico. Hades standing over him, looking smug. Nico's face, terrified and crying.

He must have made some kind of noise, because he briefly woke up when he was nudged gently.

He grumbled out a curse and squeezed his eyes shut. Nico's new ability to touch things was becoming bothersome.

Percy was just about gone again when he felt cold fingers work their way under his shirt and trailed down his back.

His flesh broke out in uncomfortable goose bumps and he whined, trying to move away from Nico's freezing fingers.

The ghost was relentless though, he continued assaulting him, his fingers moving from his back to his stomach to trace over his muscles.

"Fnk aaahhh." Percy finally managed to say sleepily.

Which translated to fuck off.

He heard Nico chuckle behind him and the fingers withdrew from the battle. Percy sighed in relief, thinking that Nico had gone off to haunt someone else for a while.

How wrong he was.

He yelped as he was grabbed and turned on his back. A cold weight settled on top of him, not as heavy as a body should have been, but it was still solid.

Percy pried open his eyes and glared up at Nico who was looking pleased with himself. "Seriously?"

Nico shrugged and leaned down to kiss him, his teeth nipping at his lips, asking very politely for permission to enter.

Percy froze, not sure what to do, but with a few more coaxing nips and licks, he finally opened his mouth and submitted to the ghost.

Nico made a happy noise at the back of his throat and he deepened the kiss, his cold tongue exploring every part of Percy's mouth. He kissed the Sea Prince lazily, allowing Percy to get use to the feeling, since it was probably a weird feeling to be kissing a ghost.

When he sensed Percy needed air, he pulled away and continued kissing down his neck. He couldn't quite use enough pressure to mark the Son of Poseidon, but he swore to change that as soon as he was alive again.

" **You've been asleep for three days."**

Percy sighed and made some kind of affirmative noise that quickly turned into a moan when Nico found a particularly sensitive spot on his neck.

Nico stopped and leaned above him. He smirked when he saw how debauched Percy looked, all red lipped and panting, looking at him expectantly to continue.

" **You should get up and get something to eat, you'll feel better."**

"Can't we stay here a bit longer?" Percy asked him, his eyes already closing again. He reached up and tried to pull Nico down for another kiss, but he used too much force and his hand fell through him. He glared at his hand, cursing at it in his head.

" **You're awful needy, Perseus. Maybe this is a bad idea; you seem a little high maintenance for me."**

Percy snorted at him. "I'm high maintenance? How about you? How much hair product did you go through a week when you were alive?"

Nico frowned and reached up to play with a strand of his transparent hair.

" **Let's not venture down that road yet."**

"I thought so." Percy laughed at him before turning on his side again, almost rolling off the bed.

Nico's cold presence quickly pressed itself against his back, and Percy didn't have to be a genius to know that he was being spooned. He looked over his shoulder, giving Nico a weird look. "You know, you've been an amazing cuddle buddy lately. I kind of miss how bitchy you were being."

" **The guy I was in love with for years ignored my feelings, and then I ran away and got over him. And then I come back and find out he was crushing on me the whole time. Give me a break, I'm feeling pretty good right now, Perseus."**

Percy scowled, turning his head to hide the blush on his cheeks. "I wasn't…crushing on you."

" **Sure, and that's why you freaked out at Jason when he tried to mention something about me and you."**

Percy sat up so he could look at Nico. "Jason is an ass! He just makes assumptions!" But with his face red, Nico knew that he had won.

" **Oh, Perseus. You amuse me."**

"Fuck off," Percy said grumpily before lying back down and curling into a ball to keep warm. Nico was stealing all his body heat.

But after all the kissing and their embarrassing conversation, Percy couldn't make himself go back to sleep. It didn't help that Nico had returned to kissing him, this time on the back of his neck.

Nico was cold, and the contact with him made him shiver, but he tilted his head down anyway, giving the ghost more access to his neck. He could practically feel Nico's smirk against his skin.

He was still having trouble getting used to the whole idea of being with a guy. It was strange, but not a bad strange. He felt more relaxed, and he was completely fine with giving Nico control.

Percy turned his head and Nico met him, kissing him like before.

Percy felt his heart flutter nervously in his chest. It was so weird to have someone so interested in just lying there and kissing him. He turned around to get more comfortable and gave Nico the lead, curious to see where he would take them.

So far the ghost hadn't gone much pass kissing and a few touches here and there. Percy knew nothing much beside that could happen anyway with Nico not being alive and all.

Nico seemed to read his thoughts, his hand slipping back under Percy's ruffled shirt and slowly tracing upward.

He didn't really see why Nico was so interested in his stomach. The man obviously had muscles of his own, it's not like they were new. And he didn't even have breasts like a woman; it was just weird for Nico to be touching him there for no—

"Gah! Fuck!"

Nico startled so bad at Percy's violent outburst that he lost control and turned to mist again.

" **Are you okay?"**

Percy rubbed at his chest, trying to create any amount of friction. "Can you please refrain from touching my nipples with your frozen fingers?"

Nico looked down at his hand. He must have forgotten how cold he felt to Percy.

" **Oops."**

Percy shook his head and climbed out of the bed. "I'm going to take a shower; I have to warm up. I'll be back in a few." He grabbed some clean clothes out of his bag and left the room.

Nico watched him go, deciding not to follow him. Percy valued his shower time, and he didn't want to intrude.

A few-minute shower turned into a forty-five minute one as Percy washed away the rest of his injuries and exhaustion. Eventually he turned the water off and poked his head out of the shower, making sure the coast was clear. He was growing more comfortable around Nico, but he still wasn't  _that_ comfortable yet.

He dried off and got dressed, trying to maneuver around in the tiny hotel bathroom. His dad gave him an unlimited mortal credit card; he really needed to get a higher class hotel next time. The small dirty motel rooms were starting to gross him out.

When he exited the bathroom, he was surprised to see Nico sitting on the bed. His eyes were closed like he was in deep thought.

Percy walked pass him and went back over to his bag to put his dirty clothes away. He really needed to do laundry.

A growl from his stomach almost made him jump.

And he really needed to eat.

A cold pressure on his back told him Nico was leaning on him.

" **Take me out on a date."**

Percy turned to give him a confused look, "a date? You want to go on a date? How very…normal of you."

" **You need to eat, and we have to decide where to go next."**

"Fair enough," Percy said as he dug his card out of his bag and grabbed Nico's sword off the table. He tied the blade securely to his belt, "let's get going then. I'm starving."

" **I know a place nearby here. I ate there once with Dad."**

Percy was glad Nico was in front of him and he didn't see his shocked expression. "Your dad, he just hung out with you?" He left the room and locked the door behind him.

" **Doesn't your dad?"**

"Not really," Percy said, trying not to feel disappointed. But then again, he never saw Jason hanging around with his father. So at least he wasn't the only one.

Nico took the lead.

" **Dad and I were close. He was even planning to make me a god so I could rule alongside him."**

Once again Percy was shocked. He couldn't picture Hades as a loving father, but it did explain Nico's weird behavior. The different way he talked, like he was better than everyone else. The way he held his head up whenever he spoke. That malicious glint in his eyes that Percy would catch every now and then.

Nico had been spending way too much time down in the underworld with Hades. Percy was once again starting to doubt his situation with the Ghost King.

What would stop him from running back to the underworld when he was revived? And Percy sure as hell wasn't going to live down in that horrible place.

Nico stopped moving and hovered in front of him, staring him down.

" **Perseus, what are you thinking about?"**

Percy shook his head, "I'm just thinking about how hungry I am. And how being in Turkey really makes me want turkey."

Nico pretended to smile, but Percy could tell it wasn't sincere, it didn't reach his eyes.

" **Fine, keep your secrets. In the meantime, let's go find you a meal."**

Nico took him all through the busy city of Antalya, making sure to take the long way so he could show him the sights.

Nico, it turned out, was a very resourceful person when it came to cites in Europe. Percy had the feeling that he had spent more than a few lunch breaks there with his dad.

It was almost noon by the time they finally made it to a small Bistro in one of the quieter areas of the city. Percy sat down with a groan, his mouth watering at all the smells wafting through the room. He wanted to try it all.

Someone came over to take his order and Percy pointed to random things on the menu. He had no idea what the guy was saying, and he really didn't care what he ordered, as long as it was hot and filling. The man looked pleased, no doubt by the amount of food Percy had purchased, and he left to place the order.

Nico pulled the chair on the other side of the table just enough that he could sit down without it looking suspicious. He didn't need to sit in the chair, but he wanted the illusion to be there.

" **I would ask if you're able to eat all that, but I know from experience that you can."**

Percy smirked, "You have no idea. The more my power grows, the more I can eat." He fiddled with a napkin, "so…you sure know a lot about this place."

Nico smirked.

" **If you think I know a lot about Turkey, we should go to Italy sometime. I'm originally from there and I still remember a lot. I can even woo you with Italian words."**

The guy who took Percy's order came back with a glass of water, and Percy thanked him and waited for him to leave before asking, "Do I have to be in Italy to hear to woo me with Italian?"

" **Sei adorabile."**

Percy paused and narrowed his eyes. He wasn't sure if he had been insulted or not. "Did you just call me fat?"

Nico actually laughed at that.

" **No, I wouldn't do that, Perseus."**

"I don't believe you," Percy said smiling. "So moving away from how fat you think I am, where do you think our next destination is?"

" **I think we have to go back to the motherland."**

Percy nodded, already expecting that. "Greece? I thought we would have to eventually. Good thing it's not too far from us."

He stopped when he noticed a couple sitting at the next over staring at him. He looked at them until they turned away and went back to whatever they were talking about.

Great, now everyone in the restaurant was going to think he was crazy.

"Do you have any idea what we'd be going up against?" He asked keeping his voice quieter this time.

" **I'm not sure. Dad had a lot of favourite monsters. The other two were obvious because of where they were, but this one is difficult."**

"So be prepared for anything is what you're saying?"

" **Basically. And make sure you can do that water trick of yours. It's the easiest way to deal with these monsters, Perseus."**

Percy flinched. "I don't know about that…" He didn't want to tell Nico the real reason why he wasn't using that particular ability. It was a horrible thing to experience. The feeling of draining someone's life force. Feeling their blood stop in their veins.

It creeped him out, and frankly, it bothered him more than he liked to admit.

It was fun when he was draining the liquid from plants, but doing it to something that was living wasn't the same.

Well plants were living too, but they didn't have hearts that Percy could feel slowly stopping...

Nico seemed to notice how uncomfortable Percy had become, so he changed the subject.

" **So what exactly did you do while I was gone for all those years? You seemed pretty chummy with Jason."**

Percy was about to answer, but thankfully his food arrived at that moment, giving him enough time to think of something to say.

He thanked the guy and dug in, almost crying at how delicious it was, He wasn't even sure what he was eating, but it was good.

Nico stared at him, waiting for an answer to his question. His eyes were so focused on him he could feel a blush working its way to his cheeks.

"If you're jealous or something, don't be. Piper has Jason wrapped around her finger. We were just best friends who run the camp together. And he's helped me out of some dangerous situations in the past, so yeah, we're pals."

The Ghost King didn't look convinced.

" **Greeks were famous for their orgies."**

Percy spit his food out.

The same couple from before were looking at him again.

He waved and smiled and they quickly got up and left.

Percy turned back to Nico, "Jeez, Neeks. Blunt much?"

Nico ignored him.

" **Did you think about me much? You must have for Jason to be making comments about it."**

"Yeah, well we all wondered where you went. And Hazel was loyal to the end, she didn't say a word." Percy deemed it safe to eat again, and he took another bite.

It was starting to feel less like a date and more like an interrogation.

"What about you? What were you doing all those years? Serving Hades?"

Nico nodded slowly, he appeared to be choosing his words carefully.

" **I ran errands for him, and went on quests. I had to prove I was good enough to be allowed to rule at his side."**

Percy moved on to the next dish. "So if things were going so well, why did you end up in Tartarus? I mean, I know why you went down there, but wouldn't Hades have said something to stop you?"

" **He was the one who suggested it to me. It was one final test I had to pass, and I failed. I'm not even sure why he's going through all the trouble of bringing me back."**

Percy tried to bite back a bitter comment like 'because he obviously loved you, moron' but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Even if he wished his father would show him the same amount of attention, he had come to realize that the God of the Sea probably had better things to do other than raise his Demi-God son. Or talk to him for that matter.

"Maybe Hades believes in second chances?"

Nico didn't look convinced by these words. In fact, he looked bothered by them.

" **Let's hope not."**

Percy stayed quiet for the rest of his meal. As soon as he was finished he paid and left the small restaurant to venture into the busy streets once again.

By then the sun was at its full strength, and Percy who usually loved warm weather, found it extremely warm.

He held out his hand for Nico, waiting for him to take it.

Nico looked surprised by the gesture but he took his hand anyway, and they walked back to the hotel.

Percy made sure to keep his hand down by his side so people didn't question his awkward way of walking.

Once they were back in their room and the door was closed, Nico had him pinned to the nearest wall and was ravishing his mouth once again.

Percy held onto him as tightly as he dared, scared that if he wasn't careful, Nico would turn into his mist form again and ruin the moment. He moaned loudly as Nico's hands wandered down and grabbed onto his ass roughly.

Nope, he definitely didn't want to ruin the moment.

Nico moved away from his mouth to latch onto his ear with his teeth and Percy let out a pathetic whimper he didn't know he was capable of.

Nico's breath was cold on his ear.

" **Perseus."**

And then Nico was kissing down his neck again in a way that was turning his legs into jelly.

If this was the way Nico responded to dates, he vowed to take him out more often.


	7. Something to do with an Anteater

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the Delay. Spider-Man 2 came out and then it was free comic book day. I was super busy!

 

The return to Athens went relatively quickly and without much interruption. There were no monster attacks on the way and Percy was very grateful. He wasn't sure if he could take on a Manticore in his condition.

His nightmares were getting worse.

Images of him dying, of Nico dying or his friends dying made him wake up in a cold sweat. He wasn't sure why he kept seeing so much death, because normally his dreams were pretty straight forward. They usually gave him a glimpse into the future or present, which didn't bode well seeing as they usually came true.

Nico always woke him up when he started thrashing in his sleep, and Percy was thankful that he did. He still hadn't told the Ghost King what his dreams had been about, but he was sure Nico could guess at this point.

Tartarus did stuff like that to you, he was sure that when Nico had been alive he had awful dreams too. That's what you get for falling into the pit of hell.

They were both pretty quiet on the drive back since Percy was tired. But he opted to drive the twenty one hours straight through to Athens. It not like he was going to get any sleep anyway.

And while Percy worried about his dreams, Nico worried about the next monster they had to fight.

" **I can't think of any monsters my dad would have sent to Greece. I mean, I know there are thousands of monsters, but he's been following a pattern up until now, so I don't think he'll venture far from it."**

"Yeah," Percy said as he thought back to what they had faced so far. "The Minotaur was denial and isolation, and the Chimera was anger." He pulled the car into the hotel's driveway and parked it at the front door.

" **Which means that if we're following the Kübler-Ross's 'five stages of grief theory', bargaining is next on the list; the problem lies with figuring out which monster would represent it."**

Nico stopped talking when he realized where they were.

" **Really? The Athenaeum InterContinental**   **hotel? Are you sure you can afford this?"**

Percy laughed as he got out of the car and handed his keys to the valet. "I can't, but my dad can," he said quietly when the valet had his back turned.

Percy booked one of the most expensive rooms in the hotel while everyone stared at him in confusion. He supposed he didn't look like the poster boy for 'rich bastards monthly' but he didn't care. As long as the room had a huge tub that he could sleep in for a few hours, they could look at him however they wanted.

He was shown to his room by one of the hotel workers, and he thanked them and tipped them before finally getting behind closed doors.

The room was grand, and Percy thought it was a nice change from all the others he had stayed at. It was nice to be spoiled every once in a while.

He was no expert in design, but he had to admit, the room looked very fancy. Maybe a little gaudy with all its mixes of colors, but it still found a way to work. And unlike the other places he had stayed, it was huge. It had a main room and another room leading into the bedroom where he hoped he would find a massive bathroom connected so he could finally get a hot bath.

He threw his bag on the pristinely clean couch and untied Nico's sword from his belt, setting it neatly beside his bag.

He wasn't sure where the ghost had run off to, but he didn't have to go far to find out.

Nico had already made himself comfy on the luxurious bed. He didn't even look up when Percy came in, his mind probably preoccupied in his thoughts.

Percy jumped onto the bed and crawled over to the ghost. "Hey," he said, waving his hand to get Nico's attention. When Nico still didn't move, he put his hand on Nico's cold body to check if he was solid first before leaning up to brush his lips against cold ones.

That seemed to get Nico's attention. He tugged the Sea Prince closer and kissed him until he was breathless.

When he pulled away, Percy laughed nervously. "So that got your attention."

Nico was still giving him a hungry look, but the ghost pushed it aside so they could talk strategy.

" **I'm still thinking."**

Percy nodded his head. He wasn't sure where or what the monster was, but he knew he would face them and kill them either way. He thought it was adorable that Nico had to plan and think about everything. The specter looked to be the type who didn't like to be caught off guard.

"Well, if you have any ideas, share them with me. I've been going over in my mind all of the monsters I know about or have fought and I can't think of anything that fits the description of 'bargaining'."

Nico turned from him and glared at a spot on the bed.

Percy continued. "Your dad likes the dark humor, doesn't he? Making us kill monsters that fit into each category of the stages of grief thing. You think he came up with that on his own?"

This time Nico's lips curled up into a smile.

" **He's probably down in the underworld giggling and patting himself on the back."**

Percy couldn't exactly picture a giggling Hades, but the thought alone was funny. "I'm going to take a nap and then we'll use your 'soul location ability' to find this monster. Don't stress out about it too much, Neeks. Whatever it is, I'm sure I can kill it, if you haven't noticed I'm pretty strong."

Just to emphasise his point, he pulled back his shirt sleeve and flexed his arm.

Nico rolled his eyes but he was still smirking.

" **Yes, Perseus. We all know how amazing you are."**

Percy laughed, not at all upset by the sarcasm in Nico's voice. He left the bedroom and called the desk for room service.

The man who came to the door was the same one who showed him to his room. Percy quickly explained that he needed his clothes washed and he handed him his bad full of dirty laundry. He tipped him extra to bring it back to his room when it was clean.

Now looking forward to a hot bath and clean clothes, Percy practically bounced his way into the bathroom, giving Nico one last wave before closing the door.

The tub was spectacular, it was big enough to hold six people comfortably and deep enough that if Percy stood upright in the middle, the water would come up to his chest.

Perfect.

He started filling the tub with hot water and jumped in. He held his head under the water and waited until it was filled to the top then he turned off the water. He allowed himself to sink to the bottom and hovered there. He closed his eyes and drifted off into a peaceful sleep for the first time in a long time.

He wasn't sure how long he slept, but when he woke up the water was cold. He stood up and drained the tub.

He didn't have any clean clothes to change into, so he had to wrap a towel around himself so he could go looking for the clothes that the hotel staff member had hopefully cleaned.

Percy opened the door and jumped when he saw Nico standing right in front of it.

"Jeez, Neeks. I know you're a ghost and all, but give a guy some warning."

Nico smirked at him and continued to stand in his way. So Percy was forced to stand there awkwardly with only a towel on.

"Um, can I go find my clothes?"

Nico's smirk widened and he shrugged.

" **You can walk through me you know."**

Percy narrowed his eyes at him. He didn't trust Nico when he smirked like that. "Did you hide my clothes?"

" **No…"**

Percy walked through him and went into the main room; his clothes were sitting by his bag on the couch.

So maybe the Ghost King didn't hide them.

" **You don't trust me, Perseus?"**

"I do, I just don't trust that you're bored with nothing to do." He said. He picked up his clothes and turned to look at Nico who was still standing in the doorway smiling at him.

"Turn around at least, you dirty pervert."

" **I'm not looking at you; I'm looking out the window behind you. Athens sure looks beautiful all lit up in the darkness."**

But Nico's eyes were anywhere but the window.

Percy felt his face flush as Nico's eyes traveled slowly down his body.

"I'm getting changed in the closet then." He grabbed a pair of his jeans and boxers and a camp T-shirt and locked himself into the spacious closet near the front door.

Nico stayed on the other side of the door, but continued talking to him.

" **Come on, Perseus. Get out of the closet, everyone knows."**

"Not cool, Neeks."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Athens, Percy decided, was beautiful at night.

It must have been the way the lights were hitting the buildings, but it was magical. Or it could have just been the fact that he felt like he was home here. There was something about Greece and all the other places he had been too, it felt like he had been missing this piece of himself all his life, and he didn't find it again until he came back.

He had no doubt it had something to do with his Demi-God blood. And if it wasn't so dangerous to live there, he might have considered moving back after everything was done and over with.

Nico led them through the city, he seemed to know exactly where he was going, but that might be due to him sensing where his soul was.

Nico's sword was heavy at his hip. He couldn't wait for the ghost to come back to life so he could take the damn thing. It was obviously not meant for a Son of Poseidon.

" **Damn it."**

Percy stopped before he walked right through him. "What's up? You can't find it?"

" **I can find it, but it keeps moving… every time we get close and were about to cut it off, I don't see anything."**

Percy looked down at the ground. "Is it under the city then? The sewer would probably be a good place for a monster to hide out."

Nico didn't look too pleased at the thought of having to go down underground; which Percy thought was strange since he  _was_  a Son of Hades.

"Why are you making that face?"

Nico shook his head and floated over to the nearest manhole.

" **It's nothing; I just hate having to put you in danger like this. A sewer is hardly the place for a battle, there's not enough room, and if it's unstable, the whole thing could come crashing down on you."**

Percy felt touched and a bit surprised at Nico's concern. But if Nico had been concerned the whole time, it would explain half of why he was always so grouchy.

"I'm sure I can handle it, Nico. You've seen me come out of worse situations, all without the Curse of Achilles." He bent down and grabbed onto the edges of the sewer cover. With a groan he picked the heavy piece of metal up just high enough to slide it out of the way.

The smell was horrible of course, but Percy bit his tongue and started climbing down the ladder into the darkness, Nico floating in the air beside him.

It was much deeper than Percy expected and it was pitch black. Once he was safely on the ground, he drew Riptide and squinted his eyes, trying to see ahead of him with the limited light.

" **This way."**

Nico moved ahead of him and in his ghost form he gave off a small amount of light making it easier to follow him.

Percy tried his best to keep up, but Nico was moving forward at a determined pace, and he had to stop to catch himself from falling over into the polluted water.

"Neeks!" Percy called out, hoping it would stop the ghost or at least slow him down.

Nico stopped abruptly and held his hand to silence him.

He was about to ask him what was wrong, when he heard it. A woman was wailing pitifully in the distance, her shrill voice echoing off the walls.

" _Ohhhh….! Oh if only….!"_

Percy felt a shiver go down his spine. This didn't sound like a typical monster, if anything she sounded like a mother who had lost her children.

Nico started drifting away again and Percy tried his best to silently keep up.

As they continued to walk through the twisting and narrow sewer, the voice grew louder and shriller.

" _Ohhhhhh…! If only I could have saved them…! I could have hid them away…!"_

" **I think I know who it is."**

Nico said quietly.

"Please tell me I don't have to kill some depressed ancient Greek queen or something." Percy said back to him. Monsters he could handle, he could kill them because they tried to kill him. He didn't ever think about it being sad because he knew there was a chance that the monster would come back from Tartarus and kill a less skilled Demi-God.

But a crying woman?

Percy didn't want to think about it.

" **I think you've met her before actually."**

Percy tried to think back to all the monsters he had faced. He couldn't remember any of them sounding like this woman.

" **We just killed one of her children."**

"The Chimera?" He couldn't recall what the mother of the Chimera looked like. That was until he remembered something about a Chihuahua and a tower.

And falling to his supposed death.

"That woman? The anteater?"

Nico stopped and turned to give him a weird look.

" **Anteater? What are you talking about?"**

Percy felt like an idiot. He was so stupid when he was a kid. "I can't remember her name; all I know is that her name had something to do with an anteater."

Nico raised an eyebrow.

" **Echidna?"**

"Yes, and shut up."

Nico smiled, but he didn't say anything.

They continued for what felt like hours. Echidna must have been wandering around faster than they were able to get to her, because Nico kept cursing under his breath every time she managed to slip away.

All the while her sobs continued to echo off the walls, making Percy doubt whether or not he was going to be able to kill her.

" _My babies…! If only I had hid you away…!"_

Then finally, just when Percy was about to call it quits for the night, the sound of something slithering close by caught his attention.

It was followed by a loud cry, and Percy actually jumped in the air.

She had been closer than expected.

"Where are you, Half-blood? I smell you! Have you come to finish me off like you did my precious children?"

She came slithering around the corner and moved close enough so that Percy could just make out her image in the dark.

She had changed from the last time he saw her. She abandoned her human form completely and taken the form of a monster. From above her waist she looked like a normal albeit naked woman with long flowing black hair. But from the waist down she had a serpent's tail.

Her black eyes glared down at him. "What do you want…Percy Jackson?"

But before Percy could answer her, she wailed again and took off down the tunnel.

He raced after her, almost running into a wall. The sun must have been coming out above them, every so often they would pass by a grate and the sun would almost blind him.

He followed her until she came to a complete stop at a dead end.

She could have escaped the sewer from the manhole that was shining light down from above, but she would have been more at risk out on the streets.

Cornered, she lashed out at him with her tail and he had to quickly dodge it to avoid being hit and thrown into a wall.

"I will kill you and take revenge for my children!" She hissed, her eyes burning with fury. "If only I had killed you before, my babies may have been spared your blade!" She swung her tail at him again, cursing him when he somehow managed to dodge it.

Percy still didn't feel right about killing her, but Nico was looking at him with that same grumpy/worried expression, and he knew he had to finish her off. It was for the best, if she went back to Tartarus she would be with her children.

Or that's what he kept telling himself.

Quicker than her eyes could follow, he ran up her tail, trying to reach her before she could attack. The light shining from the holes in the ceiling made it easier to see, but didn't blind him after all the time he had spent down in the dark.

She flicked her tail and Percy was surprised to feel how much force was behind it. He called the water to him from the sewer to keep from smashing into the wall, a blow that would have probably knocked him out.

Nico was beside him as soon as he was back on his feet.

" **Just use your powers, it will make it easier."**

He shook his head. "I got this, just stay back." He ran through Nico's form and went right for Echidna who was swinging her tail around for another attack.

Using the water as a shield, he blocked the blow. Water exploded in every direction, soaking the wall and Echidna.

Percy didn't let her move her tail again, he used the water to hold it in place, like a hand gripping a handlebar.

She screamed and thrashed, hitting the water with her hands to break free, but it was no use. When she saw Percy coming for her, she pulled her fist back and tried to punch him or hit him away. But every blow she tried to land just met water as the Sea Prince danced out of the way.

Finally he got a grip on her wrists with the water, she struggled and spat, cursing him and swearing revenge.

"I'm sorry."

She didn't even have time to blink before Riptide pierced through her heart. Her body turned into stone before exploding into gold dust.

Percy watched solemnly as the dust gathered and made its way to Nico's sword at his side. He clicked Riptide into a pen and placed it back into his pocket. "I'm glad that's over with." He turned around to look for Nico and found the ghost leaning against the wall on the other side of the room.

He jogged over and stopped in front of him. "So…do you feel any better?"

Nico shrugged, a smirk working its way onto his mouth.

" **Not really, we might have to test it out."**

Percy back away and held his hands up, "Oh hell no. You're not coming anywhere near me, I smell like… sewer and stuff."

" **I don't have a sense of smell right now."**

"Don't care, stay away from me."

And before Nico could move to touch him, he ran for the ladder that led out of the sewer.

Nico smiled and shook his head, vowing to get Percy after.

Thankfully the exit that they had chosen was located on a quiet street, and the only ones that saw him climb out where a couple of pigeons that took off into the sky.

He kicked the cover back on and started running for the nearest source of water. There was no way he would be allowed back in his hotel looking like he did. They would probably ban him or something.

He managed to find an empty home using his powers to make sure no one was around. He jumped in the shower, not even bothering to take his shoes off and used the water to rinse all the grime off.

As soon as he deemed himself clean, he stepped out of the shower and left the home completely dry and clean.

" **I didn't take you for the breaking into homes type."**

Percy smiled, "you got to do what you got to do."

It was an hour long walk back to their hotel, and now that the people of Athens were out and about, it was a lot more crowded.

As the smells of cooked meals started to fill the air, Percy's mouth began to water. He turned back to look at Nico who looked uncomfortable. "Hey, do you mind if I stop to get something to eat?"

Nico shrugged.

" **Do what you want. I'm simply following."**

Percy sighed at the ghost's behavior and reached over to grab his hand. "Come on, you can consider it another date if you want."

That seemed to make Nico a bit happier, and he followed along, his cold fingers entwining with Percy's own.

They chose a spot that had the dining area outside, even though it was chilly out. That way it wouldn't look as weird if Percy started talking to Nico.

The waitress approached him and asked him what he wanted in perfect English. Percy smiled and placed his order, once again getting way too much food.

"You won't be disappointed," she said as she wrote down what he wanted. "Our food is the best. And I'm not just saying that."

Percy laughed; he liked the sound of that.

"And what are you having today, sir?" She said, looking at Nico.

Nico almost jumped out of his skin, he looked up at the woman confused and speechless.

Percy was about to kick him to make him talk, even though he himself was just as shocked.

But then then woman blinked and she shook her head looking as confused as they were.

She looked back at Percy and blushed, "sorry, I must be seeing things. I thought there was someone sitting there. I need to get more sleep." She laughed nervously before leaving to give his order to the cooks.

Nico watched her go before turning back to Percy.

" **What… the fuck?"**


	8. To Feel Alive

"Well if that wasn't confirmation that you're getting better, I don't know what is." Percy said as he flopped down on the bed.

Nico looked less than amused as he lay down beside Percy and glared up at the ceiling.

" **Now I have to be careful not to be seen now. It's bothersome."**

Percy wanted to reach over and pinch his cheek, but he was sure that would just piss the Ghost King off. Nico was a man after all, not a woman, but there were things Percy had to continuously stop himself from doing. He was certain the angsty man would hate to do anything cutesy.

Besides, there was a chance his hand would go through Nico's face and Percy would be left there awkwardly pinching his brain and not his cheeks.

" _While I'm on the subject of the difference between dating a man versus a woman, what the hell do I buy him for gifts? Do guys even give each other gifts? Do I get him weapons or something? I don't think he'd like flowers…"_

" **Perseus."**

"Yeah?" Percy stopped his thinking process before his brain exploded.

" **Did you want a few days rest before we continue? Or do you want to leave right away?"**

Percy groaned as he looked around the room. It had barely been used since he got there; he wanted to at least get his monies worth.

It wasn't that he didn't have the strength to continue, but they were nowhere near the dead-line, so Percy felt safe to relax for a bit. He had never had the opportunity on any other quest before, it was always 'run for your life!' or 'you have seven days to save the world.'

So he was grateful that Hades gave him enough time to just chill.

"How about I get some sleep and we leave tomorrow morning as soon as the sun comes up?" Percy said finally after a long pregnant pause.

Nico sighed, but he didn't look upset.

" **If that's what you'd prefer."**

"Anxious to come back to life?" Percy asked him, a smile gracing his lips.

His face heated up as Nico's eye once again traveled down his body in a lewd way.

" **You have no idea, Perseus."**

Percy grumbled and rolled on his side so that his back was facing Nico. "Whatever, that will teach you for dying in the first place, stupid."

Nico chuckled darkly behind him and Percy had to work hard to keep a straight face. There was something about Nico's laugh that was becoming addictive.

He jumped as Nico pressed himself against him. He could feel the Ghost King's cold breath on his ear, sending pleasant shivers down his spine.

" **Buonanotte."**

And then Nico kissed him and it took everything Percy had inside not to moan or blush like a girl.

Okay, so his weaknesses were Nico's laugh and whenever he spoke Italian. If that was all it took to turn him into jelly, then he was going to lose all self-respect by the time Nico was revived.

But as Nico crawled on top of him and continued to kiss him desperately, leaving him breathless once again, he found himself not caring at all.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

When Percy woke up much later, he was shocked to see Nico  _sleeping_ beside him. He had never seen the ghost truly sleep since they started out on their quest together, and Nico claimed he didn't need to anyway.

Maybe it was because they only had two more pieces of Nico's soul to collect, and that was allowing him to finally get some rest. But Percy wasn't sure; he was definitely not an expert on ghosts and revival.

Nico's form was still glowing much like a ghost, and when Percy tried to touch him, his hand went right through. So Nico wasn't solid while he slept, very interesting.

He gave up on touching him and settled for watching. He needed to repay the man for all the times he had watched Percy while he was sleeping.

Percy felt like a creep, but he had to admit, watching Nico was very amusing, especially when his nose scrunched up in an adorable manner.

That meant he was probably dreaming too.

Percy stretched and then rolled out of bed, deciding to get a shower while he left Nico to sleep.

He spent the next hour getting washed and dressed and had even managed to order an extra early breakfast (since it was only like six in the morning) and get half way through it when Nico finally emerged from the room looking still half asleep.

" **Did I… fall asleep?"**

Percy saluted him with a piece of pancake. "You sure did. I had to get up and leave, did you know you snore?"

Nico narrowed his eyes at him.

" **Not possible."**

Percy just laughed and continued his breakfast while Nico circled around him.

" **Do you still eat blue food?"**

Percy stopped mid chew. He never expected Nico to catch on to something like that. "Um, yeah, I do every once in a while when I go see my mom. But every time I try to do it myself, it just turns out fucked."

Nico hummed quietly and pulled out the chair next to him at the table and sat down.

" **Did Annabeth ever make you blue food?"**

Percy almost inhaled his pancake.

"That's none of your business," he said grumpily. "You need to stop asking about Annabeth, we have nothing between us anymore."

" **I know how to make blue pancakes."**

Percy turned to look at him but Nico's attention was drawn to the ceiling so he didn't have to look at Percy.

"That's…" Percy shoved another piece of pancake in his mouth to stall momentarily. He knew he was blushing; Nico seemed to have that effect on him. "She… said I was childish and that I didn't need to put blue coloring in my food."

Nico finally turned his attention away from the ceiling and fixed his gaze on the Sea Prince.

" **That's a shame, Perseus. Your childish nature is one of the things I love most about you. You're not as weighed down by things like people normally would be."**

Percy wanted to crawl under the table and hide. No one in his entire life (beside his mother but she didn't count because she was just as crazy as him) had ever said anything like that. Usually people rolled their eyes at him when he was acting childish, and even Jason had made fun of him a few times.

He knew his friends meant no harm, but it was hard to be taken as a fool just because he's rather laugh at a problem than get frustrated.

"I love the way your nose scrunches up when you sleep," he suddenly blurted out.

Nico smirked and raised an eyebrow.

This time Percy did smack himself in the face and he left the table. He couldn't handle being around the Ghost King. They were getting way too close to the 'feelings' talk, and he wasn't quite ready for it yet.

And as much as he wanted to trust Nico, he still couldn't stop thinking that something bad was going to happen before this was all over.

Percy packed up his things while Nico followed him around silently. He was glad the spirit didn't say anything after their embarrassing talk. Percy still couldn't look him in the eye.

He made sure Nico's sword was secured to him before he left the room and went to the front lobby to check out.

The car was out front waiting for them, and they hopped inside and Percy sped out of the driveway.

"Where do we go from here, Mr. Soul Detector?" Percy asked the ghost who was still quietly sitting beside him.

" **Just go straight for now, I'm picking up on something, but it' a bit far away."**

Percy followed his directions and soon they were zooming their way toward the ocean. "Do you have any clue who the next monster is? I can't remember what the next stage is."

" **Depression. And no, I have no idea who it could be. Whoever it is, they're pretty far away."**

"Alright, just point me in the proper direction then. I'm sure they'll turn up eventually." Percy turned on the radio and found a station that was playing pop music. Not that he didn't mind the silence, but he wanted something to listen to while they tried to find whatever they were looking for.

Nico didn't look like he was enjoying the music at all. He alternated between glaring at the radio and glaring out the window.

Percy of course, noticed this and when a song with a loud beat came on, he blasted the stereo. "I love this song!" He yelled to Nico who was looking absolutely murderous.

He laughed despite the death glare and bounced in his seat, singing along loudly and horribly to the poorly written lyrics.

" **You're lucky I like you, Perseus. I hate this kind of music."**

"You won't hate it when you see me dance to it."

Annnnnnnd that sounded great.

Percy immediately wanted to smash his head off the steering wheel.

Nico didn't seem to mind though, he gave him a hungry look and Percy swallowed nervously and switched the station.

" **Will this dance require clothes?"**

Percy almost swerved off the road. "Of course it will! Stop being such a pervert!"

Nico laughed at him and leaned across the seat to kiss him on the cheek.

The ghost was going to be the death of him.

They spent the rest of the drive listening to local radio stations and discussing some tactical plans. Nico's directions eventually lead them to a dockyard facing the Mediterranean Sea.

Percy parked the car in a safe place and grabbed his bag out of the back. If the monster was across the ocean or in it, they would have to borrow a boat anyway. So for now that car had to stay and he would have to come back for it later.

It was mid-day in Athens and it must have been a weekend because there were lots of children running around and playing around the water. Many who came over to talk to Percy, they seemed to be super excited to see him, even though Percy couldn't understand anything they were saying.

Percy patted one little girl on the head and she giggled before dragging the rest of her friends off. They waved once more and Percy returned the gesture. Kids were adorable, it didn't matter how nosey they were.

Nico was looking at him weirdly again, and Percy wondered if he had done something wrong. "What's up? Do you not like kids?"

Nico looked away from him.

" **I… I do like them, but you** _ **love**_ **kids."**

Percy shrugged, "yeah, kids are cute; they always have something funny to say."

They fell into an awkward silence as Percy searched the place, looking for an empty boat to 'borrow.'

" **Do you ever want to have kids?"**

"Dear Gods, Nico. Are you really going to worry about that right now?" Percy couldn't deny it though, there once was a time back when he was younger. He dreamed of a big house filled with a wife and a bunch of kids that he could raise and care for. But that was so long ago now, and his duties at camp had never left him any time to think about it.

" **Just answer the question, Perseus."**

Percy sighed loudly at the ghost. If Nico was thinking about running off again because they couldn't have kids together (they hadn't even made it to relationship status yet, sheesh), he had another thing coming. "Yes I want kids, eventually. And before you get your panties in a twist, just remember there are other ways to raise kids these days."

Nico didn't look pleased with his answer.

"Di Angelo, if you even think about leaving over something so stupid, I will bring you back to life and then kill you again." Percy stomped away from him in anger, knowing that Nico would have to follow anyway.

They didn't speak again until Percy had located a small motor boat that was in a more secluded area and they had the thing out into the water. Once they were far enough from land Percy deemed it safe to talk again. "Where are we going?"

Nico was at the front of the boat with his back facing toward him.

" **Go west for now, I have a feeling it's somewhere toward Italia, but it's almost like it's… in the water."**

"That's good for me then. Are there any legends of monsters around here? I'm drawing a blank."

Nico finally turned around to face him. Apparently they weren't fighting anymore.

" **Have you ever heard of Scylla?"**

"Vaguely," Percy replied. He could remember something of the sorts from one of his earlier quests.

" **From what I've heard of the legends, Scylla use to be a nymph and Glaucus who was some God, fell in love with her, but she wanted nothing to do with him."**

"Sounds like every relationship I've ever had," Percy said, flashing Nico a grin.

Nico rolled his eyes and continued.

" **I think Glaucus went to Circe, who I'm sure you remember, and asked her for a love potion that would woo Scylla. But when Circe heard his story, she ended up falling in love with him, even though he wanted nothing to do with her."**

"And that sounds like every love triangle I've ever been in."

" **Perseus."**

Percy laughed, "Sorry, Neeks, please continue."

" **Anyway… Circe, instead of making a potion decided to make a poison instead and she poured it into the pool where Scylla bathed. When Scylla touched the water, she was transformed into the horrible beast of legend, and now she takes her anger out on sailors that try to go through the** **Strait of Messina."**

"But aren't we looking for 'depression'? That sounds more like anger to me." Percy said. He didn't doubt Nico's knowledge, but he just wanted to make sure he didn't kill some poor soul for no reason.

" **Wouldn't you be depressed if you were turned into a monster for no reason other than jealousy?"**

"True."

Percy didn't need any more directions from Nico after that point. He knew exactly where the straight was located since it was in the ocean. And with Percy's abilities they managed to make it there before the sun went down, making it much easier to see.

Percy was just grateful that he wouldn't be half blind for this battle.

" **She's below us, I can sense it."**

Percy uncapped Riptide and leaned over the boat. "Do you think she'll come up? Or will I have to go down?"

" **I don't think she's moving right now."**

"Great," Percy said as he glared at the dark water. He had gotten over his fear of drowning, but big open bodies of water still made him nervous. And usually if he was swimming he never went more than a few feet under.

But he didn't have a choice this time, so before he could get worked up about it, he jumped into the water and started swimming.

" **Hey look at that, I can still talk underwater."**

Percy almost jumped out of his skin. He forgot that Nico would have to follow him since he had his sword.

"Don't get too cocky. This is my element." Percy smiled at him brightly before gathering water behind him to push him deeper into the water.

" **Ghosts actually grow stronger around water."**

Percy scoffed at him. "Whatever, just try not to fall too far behind."

" **I'm attached to you, Perseus."**

"Yeah, yeah." Percy held Riptide in front of him just in case something attacked him. He could sense something lurking in the distance, but he couldn't pin point where it was.

" **Perseus!"**

But Percy reacted just a moment too late. Scylla wrapped her tentacles around him, immobilizing him. He tried to break fee but her grip was strong, he couldn't even move his sword to try and cut her.

" _What do we have here? A little hero that's come to play with me?"_

Percy yelped as he was brought dangerously close to her waist where five dog heads snapped hungrily at him.

But besides the tentacles and the weird belt accessory going on, she looked just like a normal woman.

Once again Percy was stuck with the thought that most of the monsters weren't given a choice or were made into what they became. It made him sad to think about it, but he could do nothing about it

" _Oh look my loves, he's a pretty one. He must be a son of the Sea God to have made it all the way down here."_ She smiled at him and Percy good a good look at her serrated teeth.

"I'm afraid I can't stay, I have an important mission to finish." Percy said, and he started gathering the water around them, trying to loosen her hold on him.

He tried not to look at Nico who was giving him a worried look. It annoyed him that Nico didn't trust in his abilities, but then again, the guy had never seen him fight properly in water before.

Scylla tightened her grip on him, some of her tentacles wrapped around his throat and squeezed. But Percy continued to work the water around them, spinning around and around until it started to form a funnel shape.

Even with her powerful body, Scylla couldn't fight against the water current that was dragging her around.

" _You're powerful for a Demi-god, I'll give you that,"_  she said smiling gleefully.  _"But if I bite your head off before you can work your powers, I will be the victor."_

Percy doubled his efforts and they continued to spin, faster and faster until his stomach started to turn.

She howled and lunged for him, but her hold was loose now and Percy managed to raise his arm up just before she bit a chunk out of his face.

Blood turned the water red as she bit down harder, and Percy would have screamed if his neck wasn't being strangled.

Finally they reached the surface, and Percy used all his strength to push her away from him, using the water to help. His arm was almost ripped off, but she finally let go and went flying into the air where Percy caught her with the water funnel once again.

She screamed as the funnel continued to spin into the air, taking her with it.

Percy groaned and he tried to look everywhere but at his arm. He knew if he looked he would definitely loose his breakfast.

He used the water to lift himself into the air.

She flailed helplessly and the dogs on her waist whined pathetically.  _"No! Not again! Don't kill me! I'm not a monster! I just want to be left alone!"_

Percy held out his hand and stopped the funnel; instead he created a bubble of water around her.

She looked like a horrible Halloween snow globe.

" _Please! I promise!"_

Percy said nothing as he came closer to her, Riptide raised in front of him.

She bowed her head then and stopped her struggles _. "Fine, get it over with. I'm just a monster after all, I'm not worth anything."_

He wanted to tell her she was wrong, but he was scared of what Nico might think if he showed the enemy mercy.

So instead he drove Riptide through her heart, killing her as quickly and painlessly as he could.

She burst into a puff of gold dust and was drawn right into Nico's sword.

Percy let his control on the water go and he fell into the ocean.

He didn't know what was wrong with him; maybe he was becoming senile in his old age. He was starting to feel sorry for the monsters for the first time in his life. It was so much easier to just train in the camp, safe behind barriers and pretend they weren't preparing children for battle.

He stayed in the water just long enough until his arm had healed and he regained most of his energy, and by the time he surfaced, it was dark.

Nico was sitting in the boat that had somehow survived everything. He didn't pay any attention to Percy as the Sea Prince flopped into the watercraft with a groan.

Percy looked up at Nico, but the ghost's eyes were trained on the starry sky above them, and he couldn't help but look up himself and take in the beauty.

It was hard to get a view of the stars like this back home.

"Do you feel any better?" He asked Nico.

" **I'm not transparent anymore."**

Percy looked closer at him, and sure enough, the Ghost King looked more alive than dead now. He tried not to look too long, but Nico caught him and gave him a familiar smirk.

" **Like what you see, Perseus?"**

Percy shrugged, trying to look uninterested, "smug bastard." He sat up and a bright light in the distance caught his eye. "What the hell is that?"

Nico didn't even bother looking.

" **That's the last piece of my soul."**

"Oh," Percy said. "It's pretty; I was really expecting something darker. I think a black hole looming over the horizon would have been more appropriate."

Nico smacked him on the back of his head and he laughed.

"So what's in that direction?"

Nico turned and looked his voice was solemn.

" **Italy, it's home."**

Percy had expected something like that. He got up and stretched, cracking his aching back. "Well let's get this over with. The sooner we revive you, the sooner I can go back to sleeping in."

" **Who says I'll let you sleep in? There are so many things you can do in the morning."**

"Pervert."

" **Indeed."**

Percy touched the water and the boat took off toward Italy. Even though they were in high spirits, he felt like there was something off. His instincts were telling him to run in the opposite direction and get away as fast as he could. He tried to shake it off, but it was impossible.

Something bad was going to happen.

He just didn't know what.


	9. In the End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is anyone excited for the last book coming out in October? I personally can't wait.

You would be surprised at how fast two Demi-Gods can travel when they really want to get somewhere.

Percy could barely recall the trip across the water back to Athens, his mind was so focused on what was about to happen.

This was it; they were going to get the last piece of Nico's soul.

It was a truly exciting thought for him, because as much as he loved being in Europe; he much preferred his camp back at home. Apparently it took a dangerous trip across the world with a ghost to prove that.

Nico didn't say anything until they were safely in the car.

" **Are we leaving right away? I don't care if you need to rest."**

"Naw," Percy turned the car on and sped out onto the road. "I'll have all the time in the world to sleep once we bring you back to life. I just want to get this over with and go back to camp."

Not that they had any reason to discuss what was going to happen after Nico was alive, but Percy was still nervous about what the Ghost King would do when he was revived. There was no reason for Nico to stay above ground, and Percy wouldn't be able to stop him from slinking off back to the Underworld.

"Nico?"

He could feel Nico's eyes on him, but Percy looked at the road, he didn't want the ghost to see how nervous he was. "What are you going to do? Once you come back to life I mean. Are you going with your father, or…?" He trailed off, hoping Nico would finish the rest.

" **After all this I don't really feel like being around my father. Besides, I hear there's a nice place at a camp built for me. I never really used it but maybe that should change."**

Percy let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and gave Nico one of his biggest smiles. "Thank the Gods. I was hoping you would say that, because I really wasn't looking forward to eating pomegranate seeds and having to spend a bunch of months in the Underworld."

Nico smirked back at him. He definitely looked more solid and less ghost like, but there was still something off about him.

" **Who says I won't make you eat them? I think that's a good idea, I could have you all to myself."**

"I don't think that's a good idea, I would lose my tan."

" **I could show you around and we could annoy my father together."**

"He would probably make me a permanent addition to the Underworld if I did that. In the dead way."

" **I'll let you sit on my lap while I'm sitting on my throne."**

"You don't have a throne."

Percy caught the look Nico was giving him out of the corner of his eye, "seriously? You have a throne?"

" **If you behave I'll let you polish it."**

"Whatever, asshole."

It was a bit over a four hour drive to get to the ferry that would bring them over to Italy. Percy was already regretting his decision to come back and get the car. It would have been better to take the boat over instead of all the driving.

But the car had other supplies in it, like ambrosia and things like maps that Percy needed. So they were stuck in the car again.

Percy usually liked driving, but the amount of time they had spent in it was starting to give him a twitch. He was almost yearning for the days when he and his friends ran around on foot, or when they used the Argo II. All the sitting around was not good for the energetic Demi-God.

Nico didn't seem to mind at all though. He was usually silent for their drives while he looked out the window at the passing landscapes.

Well except for the few times Percy almost fell asleep at the wheel and drove them off the road, he was always vocal then.

" **What are** _ **you**_ **going to do when this is all over?"**

Percy shrugged, "I'm not sure. I probably go back to camp for a while, but I'm getting tired in my old age so it might be time for me to settle down."

Nico scoffed at him.

" **You really are straight. This is disappointing."**

"Hey, I can settle down with a guy as much as I would a girl, ya know." He smiled at his next thought, "besides, I think you'd look cute wearing an apron and cooking me breakfast."

That got Nico to look at him.

" **I think you misunderstand your role in our relationship, Perseus."**

Percy stole a quick glance at him, "I'm sure as hell not wearing an apron."

It was worth it to see the look on Nico's face, only the Ghost King could pull off such a magnificent eye roll.

They both went quiet for a few moments until Nico spoke again.

" **Would you consider it?"**

"Huh?" Percy wished he could look at him; it was hard to have a conversation while driving, especially when you liked to make eye contact with the people you're talking to.

" **When I'm alive again, and we both go back to camp… would you consider… being in a relationship, with me?"**

"Mr. di Angelo, are you asking me to be your boyfriend?" Percy said with a smile when Nico scowled at him. "And I thought we already were in one? Unless it's different for guys…but I'm pretty sure after two dates and a lot of making out, it's got to count for something."

" **But that's…here. Are you going to be like that when we go back to camp? I don't want to push you into a relationship if we're going to have to hide it."**

"Nico," Percy tried not to sound too exasperated. "If I wasn't ready to admit that I had feelings for you in front of the whole camp, I would never have started anything with you in the first place."

Nico didn't look convinced.

"Look," Percy sighed. "I'm pretty sure from what Jason has told me that everyone already knows that I… I… missed you… No one will be surprised by the two of us, I promise. Even Chiron rolled his eyes at me when I told him about the quest."

" **But-"**

"So don't stress out. I want to be with you, and I'm not going to hide what's between us when we get back to camp. If I did that I wouldn't be able to parade my incredibly hot boyfriend around for everyone to see." Percy looked at Nico again to give him a reassuring smile, and was surprised to see Nico's eyes wide open in shock.

" _Is he really that scared that I'm going to try and hide us?"_

But he already knew the answer to that question.

Nico always looked for an excuse to see the worst in himself.

" **I can't wait to see the look on Jason's face then."**

Nico had the smirk back, and Percy couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"Oh please, he's probably got a stash of t-shirts in his closet that says 'team Percy/Nico, right beside the wedding invitations that he made for us."

This time it was Nico who laughed.

" **That's a disturbing thought."**

"Yeah and the worst part about it is that it's probably true." Percy could almost see Jason's face when he found out.

He would never hear the end of it.

=-=-=-=-=-=

Thankfully Percy had lots of time to sleep on the ferry that took them to Italy.

Not that he got much sleep.

He mostly tossed and turned his nightmares so horrible he woke up in a cold sweat several times. He could never remember what they were about, which was weird for one of his dreams, but he knew it had something to do with the last piece of soul.

There was something not quite right, and he couldn't stop the feeling in his chest that something horrible was going to happen.

Nico laid beside him while he tried to sleep, waking him up whenever Percy whimpered or started to fuss.

But eventually he just gave up and stayed awake for the rest of the trip, not trusting his mind to leave him alone.

When they finally made it to Italy it was back in the car again for another couple of hours. The joking atmosphere was gone now as they continued to drive toward the bright light in the distance.

Nico was just as tense as him.

"Do you sense it too, Neeks?" Percy asked him as the ghost continued to glare out the window.

" **Something's not right. I don't want to say it's been too easy, but it's strange. We haven't even been attacked by any monsters since Athens."**

Percy nodded in agreement. That was good then, he wasn't losing his mind. Nico felt the same way he did.

"I'll use that other ability of mine this time. I really don't want to prolong the battle any more than I have to." Percy hated the idea of having to drain the water out of someone's body again, but if it meant that it would be over sooner, he was willing to do it.

" **I'm sorry for all this, Perseus."**

Percy shook his head, "Its fine, Neeks, even if you haven't told me the real reason why you were down in Tartarus again. I understand it's probably something you're not proud of; most likely something your father asked you to do." He let out a nervous laugh, hoping Nico wouldn't get pissed by the unsubtle push he just gave him.

" **It was something for my father."**

Nico paused, probably debating whether or not to continue.

" **I was doing my final test, to prove I was worthy of Godhood."**

Percy tried not to look too surprised. "What the hell was the final test something like making yourself forget? That's kind of harsh."

" **Being a God is harsh in itself. My father was testing my ability to let go of my emotions. There's a certain object at the end of the river Lethe, and if you touch it, it will make you forget the thing you love most. That was my final test…and I failed…"**

"The thing you love most?" Percy asked. "Mythomagic maybe?"

Nico gave him a look and Percy felt his heart sink.

" **You really don't know what it was?"**

Percy went silent, looking ahead at the road.

" **Perseus?"**

"I thought Hades said that you didn't have feelings for me anymore." Percy said suddenly. "That's what he said when he came to me that night. Why would he lie?"

" **He knew about it, why do you think he sent me on a quest like that when he could have told me to go slay a dragon or something?"**

"Yeah, well, your dad's a dick."

Nico didn't make any objections to that statement, both men still too pissed about everything to talk.

Percy continued to follow the light to wherever this monster was hiding, and as they got closer the feeling of wrongness continued to increase.

The sun was still high in the sky and people of course were out doing their daily business, but something seemed off about them.

" **Perseus, stop the car for a second."**

Percy pulled over to the side and cut the engine.

There was definitely something wrong.

It was like all of Italy was frozen in time.

People were stopped in mid motion, even birds were hanging in the air, and cars were still waiting at red lights or paused in the middle of the road.

And here Percy had though that the people in Italy just parked weirdly.

"Where are we?"

" **We just entered Rome a while back, that's when I noticed everyone stopped."**

Percy got out of the car and went to get his stuff out of the back.

Nico turned around in his seat to look at him.

" **What are you doing?"**

"I'm not going to run people over if they're standing in the middle of the road," he replied with a laugh. "It's better to go on foot from here." He slung his bag over his shoulder and picked up Nico's sword.

"Besides," he looked up at the light that was almost blinding now. "I think we're close."

He had Nico lead the way through the streets since he knew the place better than him.

It was silent as death in Rome. There was no sound and not even a breeze blowing through. The blade at Percy's hip pulsed lightly, like it could sense the last part of the soul nearby.

Nico was just as silent as the streets around them, his body tensed as he walked in front of Percy. He couldn't blame the Ghost King for being so on edge; whatever was happening in Rome was unnatural.

But it got worse as they got closer to the light.

People changed from wearing normal everyday clothes to ancient Roman wear. The streets turned from pavement to dirt and the cars turned into horses.

Roman soldiers in armor replaced cops and while it was amazing to see, Percy couldn't help but feel even more nervous at the change.

" **I don't believe it."**

Percy almost bumped into the ghost, but he managed to stop himself. "What…" But he didn't have to finish the sentence as he looked up at the huge building looming in the distance.

It was the coliseum, completely restored and a brilliant white against the rest of the city thanks to the bright light overhead of it.

Percy closed his mouth when he realized it had been open. "Is that where-"

" **Yes."**

They quickened their pace, trying to reach the oval shaped arena faster. The gates were opened when they got there and they slowly stepped inside.

It was like nothing had ever happened to it. There were no missing sides, no damage to it whatsoever. And as they came to the arena, they quickly saw that the floor was repaired as well, covered in a fine white sand, untouched by anything.

Percy uncapped Riptide as they went down to the arena. There were no monsters in sight, but he wasn't about to push his luck.

Nico was right behind him as he stepped out into the sand. His feet sunk into it, but it was still easy to keep his balance.

"Welcome, Percy Jackson, to the coliseum of Rome."

They both looked above them to the Imperial box, neither of them surprised to see Hades seated there.

" **Father!"**

"Ah Nico, you seemed to be looking better."

Nico narrowed his eyes at the God.

" **No thanks to you."**

Hades waved dismissively at him. "Yes, yes, it's my fault, I know. But you left me no choice, I needed you to prove to me you were over your little crush. This was the only way to do that."

Percy wasn't sure what was happening, but by the sound of the growl Nico let out, it wasn't good.

" **So you let me die to learn a lesson? I'm sorry to tell you your efforts were in vain, in fact, they've pushed me further away from you."**

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Hades leaned over the rail and peered down at them. "You came here, did you not? I'm still going to get my way, even if it did take longer than expected."

" **What are you talking about?"**

Hades shook his head, a look of disappointment on his face. "Come now, Nico. Haven't you figured it out yet? I had dear Percy here go through all the trouble of fighting monsters that had something to do with all the human emotions felt with grief. Can you tell me the last one?"

When Nico said nothing Percy decided to answer.

"Acceptance?'

Hades gave him a wide smile. "Exactly, now what kind of monster could I summon to represent acceptance? I'll give you a hint; he's standing right in front of you, Nico."

Percy spun around, looking everywhere for the monster that Hades had sent.

But there was nothing there.

He looked at Nico and tried not to freak out when the Ghost King gave him a panicked look.

" **Perseus…"**

"Indeed!" Hades clapped his hands together, "I think my planning is rather brilliant myself. You are the monster, Percy Jackson. I think it fits together perfectly, since you're the reason Nico had to die in the first place."

Percy felt his heart break at those words.

The bad feeling he had was now proven correct, he had played right into Hades trap.

"Of course," Hades said loudly to get their attention. "I could never kill you myself, then I would have my brother's wrath to face, but there are ways around it."

Percy spun around and gave the God of the Underworld his nastiest look. "You're stupid if you think I'm going to kill myself."

"Who said anything about you killing yourself," Hades laughed and snapped his fingers. "Well I suppose this could be counted as killing yourself."

Something formed out of the shadows; it looked almost like Nico whenever he went to shadow travel. But as he and Nico watched, it turned into something worse. Its features shaped until it resembled Percy himself, it looked identical except for its lifeless black eyes.

Nico cursed and Percy turned around to see the Ghost King chained to the sand by his feet, unable to move.

"Here's how it's going to go," Hades said. "Either evil Percy is going to kill Nico, or he's going to kill you. And before you tell me that Nico can't be killed because he's a ghost…"

The other Percy uncapped a sword that looked like Riptide, but it was glowing with a blue light.

"My word of advice to you would be don't chance it."

Percy must have looked scared because Nico smiled at him reassuringly.

" **This is the last one, are you ready, Perseus?"**

Percy said nothing as he turned back and watched the other him get into a fighting stance. He knew how this would play out, he had seen it before in his dreams, and he wasn't going to let it happen like that again.

"Let the game… BEGIN!"

The stadium filled with cheering fans at Hades command and the God sat down in his seat and signaled for the battle to start.

The other Percy fixed his opponent with a blank stare.

Percy knew how fast he could move, he just hoped he would be able to keep up with him. He untied Nico's sword from his belt and held it in front of him. Even though the blade was unbalanced, he knew it would be better than nothing.

The other Percy ran at him, quicker than Percy though possible, and tried to dodge around him.

Percy stopped him before he could get anywhere near Nico, swinging both his swords at the shadow, barely able to keep up with its speed.

The crowd cheered as Percy pushed him back. His arms were already stinging from the blows.

This shadowed version of himself was much stronger than him; he wasn't sure how much time he could buy.  _"I need to think of a plan, and now."_

The shadow rushed him again, his attention gone from Nico.

Percy grit his teeth as he was pushed back, their sword were clanging together so loudly Percy's ears were ringing. He was surprised both his blades were holding up to the abuse.

A roar behind him was the only warning he got and he rolled to the side just as a lion pounced on the spot he had just been in.

The crowd cheered even louder and Percy looked down at his now bleeding arm where the lion's claws had nicked him.

He ignored it and went on the attack.

If there was anything he was good at besides swimming, it was sword fighting.

It was harder than he thought to use two blades, but he quickly got the hang of it. The shadow was the one having a hard time keeping up this time and Percy continued to attack with full force.

" _All I need is to cut him with Nico's sword. That should kill him and finish this."_

He wished for once he could use his power and draw out his opponent's water, but it was impossible since he was only a shadow.

He cried out in frustration as the shadow leapt away from him a great distance away. He didn't even think why it would retreat until his foot fell into a trap and he was pulled right off his feet onto his back by a rope.

This gave the other Percy now had the opening he needed and he ran at Nico, ready to finish him off.

Percy didn't give him a chance to though as he stood up and cut the rope off his foot with Riptide before throwing it as hard as he could at his shadow's retreating back.

It dodged of course but it gave Percy the chance he needed to get back on his feet and stand close by Nico, guarding him once again.

The crowd was going mad at this point but Percy blocked them out.

" **Perseus, just let him-"**

"Shut up! Don't even finish that sentence, Nico!"

The shadow Percy circled around, and Percy knew what was coming next, he had seen it too many times in his nightmares.

The shadow ran toward them, and much like in his dreams, it felt like time was moving in slow motion.

But Percy was not going to let the battle end with Nico's death.

He threw himself in front of the blow, cringing when the shadow's blade sunk deep into his chest.

He didn't let the opportunity pass. With the enemy's sword currently occupied, Percy stabbed Nico's sword right under his shadow's chin and into his head.

The shadow hissed angrily before solidifying into stone and bursting into a cloud of gold dust. The dust gathered around the sword and it glowed bright once more before Percy dropped it onto the white sand that was quickly turning red with his blood.

The shadow's sword had disappeared along with it, leaving the hole in Percy chest to bleed freely.

Too tired to stand anymore, Percy fell to the ground.

"Perseus!"

Percy grinned and closed his eyes.  _"Nico's probably going to be pissed at me. I should be happy I'm dying, he would probably have killed me anyway."_

He coughed up a mouthful of blood. His lungs were full of it, and he realized with a sickening thought that he couldn't breathe.

" _And here I am, drowning once again. The Gods didn't waste irony on me at least."_

He opened his eyes coming face to face with Nico who hovered above him.

" _I wish I could have told you I love you. Men always suck when it comes to their feelings, so that's my fault I guess."_

Nico was grabbing onto his face, trying to keep him awake.

Percy couldn't even hear what he was saying anymore.

" _Well here goes nothing."_

Nico leaned closer to him, almost like he was about to kiss him again.

" _I love you."_

And Percy closed his eyes.


	10. Healing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... here's the rest of chatper 9 that I totally forgot to post.

Death wasn't exactly what he expected it would be.

He was looking forward to eternal damnation in Tartarus. It wasn't that he didn't think he deserved paradise, he just knew Hades would never give it to him.

It was dark where he was now, almost like he had his eyes closed underwater.

And there was also that painful stinging on the side of his face

_Slap._

Yeah, kind of like someone was slapping him.

_Slap. Slap._

And it was starting to get annoying.

" _Perseus, wake up."_

"I'm dead, I'm pretty sure I can't wake up."

_Slap._

" _Get over yourself, stop being so dramatic."_

Percy blinked his eyes open, the brightness of the sun above him making him squint. "Wha….?"

Nico was still leaning over him, that same familiar smirk on his face.

"Didn't I die?" He asked Nico.

"I'm the ghost King you fucking idiot. And I've gained some new abilities too since you last saw me."

Percy reached his hand up and patted the spot on his chest where he had been run through. It was sore but he wasn't bleeding anymore. He sat up and coughed, trying to get the last bit of blood out of his lungs.

"I learned how to heal bone and flesh, as well as control it." Nico said happily.

"Nifty." Percy said, poking his chest again.

A loud sigh above them made them both look up.

Hades was leaning over the railing again, he looked pissed. "I assume this is your answer then? You're going to choose love over Godhood."

Nico narrowed his eyes at his father, "Of course. I chose love in Tartarus and I'll choose it again and again, Father." And with that said he pulled Percy in for a kiss.

Percy blushed and flailed. He didn't mind kissing Nico in front of his friends, but kissing in front of Hades was different.

Nico smirked against his lips before pulling away, "Significhi tutto per me."

Hades looked from his son and back over to Percy who was redder than before.

If that was even possible.

"Fine! Fine…" Hade threw his hands up in the air. "You can keep your little Sea Prince for all I care; I still expect you to come and report to me every now and then. You will eventually have to take Godhood, whether you want to or not, and I'd imagine that my brother expects the same of Percy."

"I'm not becoming a God," Percy said quickly. "You guys are all insane."

Hades glared at him and Percy shut his mouth.

"I'm leaving now, all this talk about feelings has made me irritable." The God of the Underworld snapped his fingers and disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

"Don't forget to give Persephone a kiss for me!" Nico called after him.

"Really?" Percy said blankly.

Nico shrugged, "he hates it when I point out the fact that he has lovey dovey feelings for her."

Percy shook his head, unable to picture Hades anything of the sort. "So…. You're alive now."

"Yeah," Nico took a deep breath. "It feels nice."

"Even if the sun is shining on you? Doesn't it burn your skin?"

"I'm a Ghost King, Perseus, not a vampire."

Percy laughed and tried to stand up, but Nico pulled him down until he was resting his head on his lap.

"So I'm alive."

"Yes? I think we clarified that."

Nico smiled and leaned down to kiss him quickly before pulling away. "I was just thinking about how I would like to fuck you on the sands of the arena. I think it's quite romantic here."

Percy sputtered and sat up, "you're such a fucking pervert." And he yelped as Nico grabbed onto him and pulled him into a bone crushing hug.

"Perseus."

Percy continued to flail as Nico kissed the back of his neck before moving up to nibble on his ear. "Ti amo, Perseus."

"You better not be calling me fat again," Percy said, finally giving up and allowing Nico to do what he wanted to him.

But Nico just continued to kiss any part of him he could reach, and Percy sighed contently and relaxed in the taller man's arms.

"So when do you want to go back to camp?" He asked the Ghost King, who was making quite an effort to leave a mark on his neck.

"It depends," Nico said. "Are you going to show me that dance you were talking about?"

"Pervert." Percy reached up and yanked on some of Nico's dark hair. "You would like that, wouldn't you?"

Nico chuckled, "I would like that very much."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So one more chapter left. Are you all sad? I know I am.


	11. Those Three Words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last we have come to the end my friends. Sorry I didn't update last weekend, I just didn't want to write something when I wasn't in the mood, it possibly would have ended tragically. I'm glad you enjoyed this little fic of mine, and I hope to come up with something in the future for you to read as well!
> 
> PRE WARNED: THERE IS SEX IN THIS CHAPTER
> 
> Don't get mad and say you weren't prepared, I just prepared you.
> 
> You're welcome.

Percy discovered quite quickly that shadow traveling was his least favourite way to get places. It didn't matter if it got them to their destination in less than a few seconds; the sickening dizzy feeling that came with it was not in any way, worth it.

Nico had to steady him on his feet once they stepped out of the shadows and right into his room in cabin number 3. "Are you alright, Perseus?"

"Yeah I'm fine," Percy said with a shake of his head. "It's just been a long time since I had to shadow travel."

Nico let go of him and stepped back when he deemed Percy safe enough to stand on his own. "I assume you have to go tell Chiron you're back?" His dark eyes looking around the room, eventually landing on Percy's bed and he smirked.

"What does that look mean?" Percy didn't trust that smirk at all, it always meant Nico was about to do something worrisome.

Nico shrugged and walked over to the bed before falling back and splaying his lanky body over it. "Hurry back, Perseus, there's something I want to teach you." His eyes traveled up Percy's body and the Son of Poseidon audibly gulped.

"You're such a damn pervert." Percy turned away from him and walked out of the cabin, his heart racing thinking about what he would be returning to once he was done.

He knew he was ready. Some people might think lowly of him for moving forward in a relationship so fast, but Percy always gave everything he had when it came to love. And he knew he…loved or if not extremely liked Nico, so he didn't see a problem.

He was so caught up that he didn't hear Jason calling him or even know he was running toward him until he was tackled to the ground and his face was shoved into the dirt.

"I'm so fucking happy you're back! You need to control these kids!" Jason's weight shoved his face further into the soft dirt and Percy let out a pained whine.

Jason finally seemed to realize he was killing the poor man and he quickly rolled off of him. "Sorry, Jackson, I didn't realize I was squishing you to death," he smiled before saying his next words. "Maybe you should grow a bit taller and you wouldn't be such a lightweight."

Percy pulled his face out of the dirt and rubbed at it, trying to get some dirt off before turning to glare at Jason. "Really? Fuck you, man."

Jason cackled and scooped him up, spinning him around before putting him back on his feet.

Percy resisted the urge to drown him with the nearest water source.

"So," Jason said, still grinning like a fool. "Did you save the Ghost King?" Jason looked around hopefully, as if Nico would just appear out of the shadows.

"Yeah, I did. It was just a few pieces of soul to collect, no big deal." He didn't bother telling Jason about how he almost died several times and how Hades had played him. That was a discussion for another day, he was anxious to get back to his cabin.

Jason seemed to notice how tense Percy was and he clapped him on the back. Figuring Percy was just upset since Nico probably ran off to the underworld without saying thanks for all the work Percy did. And it was obvious the Sea Prince was still pinning after his Ghost King, which meant he needed some cheering up.

"Did you at least save the skinny bastard?" Jason asked.

Percy had to think hard for a second before realizing Jason was referring to Nico. He thought back to the man who was currently laid out on his bed, his olive skin and dark hair, long legs and muscled body ready in wait.

Nico was anything but skinny, and it took all of Percy's willpower not to blush when he thought about seeing the rest of him.

"I saved him, but I'll tell you the details later, okay?" Percy tried to move around the taller man, but Jason laid a comforting hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Hey, man. I'm going to come by later after you've had some time to rest and we'll hang out. I want to hear all about this quest of yours." He ruffled Percy silky black hair and jogged his way back to the training circle where some smaller Demi-God children were practicing.

Percy watched him for a few seconds as the blond corrected a young girl's stance, before he remembered what he was doing and continued to the Big House.

Chiron was easily found standing out front talking to Mr. D.

"Chiron!" Percy called out as he ran over to the Centaur.

Chiron smiled at him and waved goodbye to Mr. D, walking over to greet Percy. "I see you're back, and by the looks of it, you succeeded in your quest."

"It was a bit more difficult than I expected it to be, but it was nothing I couldn't handle.

Chiron laughed at him, "I'm glad to hear it. I have to admit that I was worried when you said Hades had sent you on the quest, but I can see now that you did well." The Centaur also looked around for Nico, but then returned his attention to Percy, deciding not to bring it up.

"Are you going back to your cabin to get some rest now?"

Percy nodded quickly and turned his back on the Centaur before he could see him blush. "Yeah, I'll make sure to go to Camp dinner later tonight."

"Rest well, Percy." Chiron called after him.

Percy jogged back to his cabin, not even stopping to say hi to Leo who tried to wave him down and get his attention. He felt really bad, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to carry out a normal conversation with the nervous butterflies bouncing around in his stomach.

Once he was in his cabin with the door shut behind him, he let out a sigh of relief. A dark chuckle got his attention and Percy looked over to see Nico still on his bed, smiling at him. "What?"

"You seem rather out of breath. Were you in a rush to get back?" Nico asked him, his dark eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Shut up, asshole." Percy walked over to the bed and stood in front of Nico who was still smirking at him. "What was it that you wanted to teach me?" Feeling braver with his own words he leaned over the Ghost King and smiled.

Nico sat up and he pulled Percy down onto his lap, "be patient, we have all the time in the world." He kissed Percy's lips, his teeth nipping on the sensitive flesh, asking for permission to enter.

Percy groaned and opened his mouth and Nico quickly took charge, running his tongue along Percy's own and then sucking on it. He jumped when Nico's slightly cold hands slipped down the back of his jeans to grope at his ass.

"Is this okay?" Nico quickly asked him. He looked concerned by Percy's reaction to being touched.

"Really? You tell me you're going to fuck me on the sands of the arena, but now you're pausing to ask me if it's okay to feel me up." Percy pushed him back so he was lying down and slipped his hands under Nico's shirt, his fingers tracing the muscles he found there.

It was different from touching a girl, but he found he liked it just as much, especially when Nico's eyes darkened and he let out a low growl. "I want to show you something," Percy said as he leaned down to kiss Nico quickly.

The taller man made no complaints as his hands were pulled out of Percy's pants and the Sea Prince stood up. He sat up to watch whatever the green eyed minx was about to do, his heart quickening when he saw how flushed Percy had become, knowing he was the cause of it.

"I don't have any music right now, but I'm sure you'll get the point."

When Nico's eyes narrowed in confusion, Percy shook his head. "Remember that dance you said you wanted?"

"Oh," Nico finally caught on to what Percy was doing and he smirked again. "Proceed then, if you do well I'll reward you, Perseus."

Percy felt a shiver run up his spine when Nico said his name. "It's Percy," but they both knew Nico would never call him that.

Percy started swaying his hips, his head playing one of his favourite songs to help him keep on beat. He watched Nico as he slowly ran his hands over his own body, stopping at the bottom of his shirt and slowly pulling it over his head.

He swayed his hips as he walked over to the Ghost King, staying just out of reach, but close enough that he could see everything. Percy's hands traveled lower down his own body and he tried to keep a straight face as Nico groaned as he watched his hands brush over his zipper.

Percy unzipped his fly and slowly dragged it down, keeping his eyes trained on Nico's face the whole time. He was surprised at just how much power he had over the other man right then, Nico was following his every move like he was in a trance.

Percy came a bit closer and used his hand to steady himself on Nico's shoulder while he bent over and pulled his pants off.

Nico barely gave him time to stand back up before he was pulled onto his lap and kissed hard. Percy groaned as Nico trailed his lips lower down his chin and on his neck, stopping to suck on a ticklish spot on his shoulder.

"Are you sure you're not completely gay?"

Percy laughed, "I'm sure, and you can blame that on Piper and your sister. Leo and I were forced to be their guinea pigs one night while we were drinking."

Percy bit down on the same spot he had been kissing before, trying to leave a mark. "Well remind me to thank Piper and Hazel next time I see them." He flipped Percy onto his back and start biting and sucking on his neck, leaving as many marks as he could.

Percy moaned and wrapped his legs around Nico's hips, pulling their bodies closer to create some more friction between them. "Nico…" Cool hands moved down his chest, brushing gently over his nipples. Shocks of pleasure went through him and Percy moaned again, the sound cut off by Nico as he returned to kissing him.

He tangled his fingers into Nico's long hair and deepened the kiss, rubbing himself against Nico's body. "Clothes off, now," he managed to pant out between breaths.

Nico chuckled and pulled away, and Percy sighed angrily at the loss of body heat.

Nico was back a few seconds later though, his hands moving all over Percy's body, finding every inch of sensitive flesh they could find. It felt like his nerve endings were on fire, everywhere Nico touched made him whine or moan. He never thought he'd make noises like that, but Nico found a way to draw them out of him.

Nico seemed pleased by how vocal he was though, and he did everything in his power to make sure Percy continued to make those addicting noises. Finally his hand moved lower, brushing over the hardness that was tenting Percy's blue boxers.

"It seems you forgot to take something off, love," Nico grinned at the flushed and confused expression the smaller man was giving him before moving to kiss his way down Percy's body. He stopped to suck and tease both of his nipples, loving the way Percy gasped and arched into his touch. Once he was sated, he moved lower, his tongue licking every bump of muscle it could find.

Percy may have been shorter than him, but he was by no means scrawny. He had muscles built from all his hard years of demon fighting, and Nico was determined to worship every one of them. He paused briefly to fuck Percy's belly button with his tongue before continuing downwards, his teeth nibbling at the edge of Percy's boxers.

"What are you doing?" Percy asked breathlessly as Nico used his teeth to pull his boxers off, his lips were curled into a smirk the whole time.

"I'm teaching you," Nico said, and without any warning he took Percy's whole length into his mouth.

Percy threw his head back, his mouth open in a silent cry as Nico deep throated him. He didn't argue as his legs were spread open further, his mind in too much of a haze to clue into what was about to happen next.

The sound of a bottle cap popping open did make him pause, but he was still too speechless to ask what Nico was doing. And he couldn't form words until cold slippery fingers were probing around his hole. "What are you—?"

But Nico twirled his tongue around the head of his cock and sucked harder, effectively distracting him from the question. Percy groaned as he felt the first finger slide inside him and started to stretch him. He tried not to panic at what was happening, he trusted Nico enough not to hurt him, so he laid his head back and closed his eyes, trying to get used to the feeling.

The mouth suckling lazily around his dick did wonders to distract him, and he only slightly flinched as another finger was added. The scissoring sensation was uncomfortable and a bit painful, but Percy bit his tongue and urged his boyfriend on with another moan.

He wasn't exactly sure what Nico was doing, it felt like he was almost looking for something, and his question was quickly answered as a cold finger brushed over something inside him and a wave of pleasure shot up his spine.

Nico released Percy's cock with one last lick and grinned. "Found it."

Percy missed the wet heat of Nico's mouth, but that was soon forgotten as Nico's fingers continuously brushed over that spot inside of him, making him cry out in pleasure. He was embarrassed by the noises he was making, but he couldn't hold himself back, and Nico looked like he was enjoying himself too.

He didn't even care when a third finger found its way inside him, stretching him more. The pleasure by far outweighed the pain at this point.

"Mo…m…"

"What was that, Perseus?" Nico leaned over the green eyed man, his fingers still working inside him.

Percy looked up at him, panting and whimpering, his cheeks flushed and his lips swollen. But even looking a debauched as he did, there was still a spark in his eyes, challenging Nico to do better.

"More."

Nico felt a shiver go down his spine as his Sea Prince glared up at him, as if he had just given a command.

And Nico felt obliged to obey.

He removed his fingers from Percy's tight heat, chuckling as the man underneath him growled at the loss. "Ask and you shall receive." He lubed himself up and gave Percy one more comforting look before pushing himself inside.

Percy went rigid, even with all the stretching it was still extremely painful. He took deep breaths and tried to relax his body.

"Do you need me to slow down?"

Percy shook his head, "if you stop, I will kill you."

Nico didn't seemed convinced and he slowed down anyway, trying to give Percy as much time as he needed, even though all he wanted to do was fuck the smaller man into the bed.

Percy glared up at him, "I told you not to stop."

Nico couldn't stop him before Percy wrapped his legs around him and pulled him closer, his entire length sliding into the shuddering body under him.

"Ow, fuck me."

"That's what I'm trying to do if you'd take your time." Nico leaned down and kissed away the tears that had escaped Percy's eyes. "Always so impatient, Perseus."

The pain was already fading; Percy rolled his hips, gasping as the hard length inside him brushed that spot.

"You're not listening, are you?" Nico kissed him, sucking lazily on Percy's bottom lip.

"Just fuck me already."

Nico bit down, drawing a little blood before pulling away. "If you insist," he pulled out until he was almost completely out and then slammed back in, grinning when Percy let out another whine of pleasure.

Nico sped up his thrusts, making sure to brush Percy's prostate every time he sheathed himself back inside. The bed banged loudly against the wall at the same time Percy cried out, and Nico hoped no one was walking by the cabin.

"Ah! Fuck!" Percy wrapped his legs tighter around Nico's waist, the heels of his feet digging into the Ghost King's ass, helping him thrust harder inside of him. He knew he wasn't going to last long and he arched his back to try and make the angle better, his mind breaking into pieces.

Nico could tell he was close so he reached down and grasped Percy's cock, stroking it with every thrust of his hips. The man underneath him went wild, thrashing and grabbing onto Nico's hair, his cries getting louder and louder as he was pushed closer to the edge.

"Come for me, Perseus." Nico bit down hard on the sensitive spot on Percy's shoulder.

With a cry, Percy came hard in Nico's hand as Nico continued to thrust into him, letting out his own pleasured groan as he finally came inside him.

Percy cringed as the hot liquid filled him, some of it leaking out and coating his already slick thighs. But as weird as it felt, he loved it.

He let out an irritated sigh as Nico lay down on top of him, knocking what little air he had left, out of his lungs.

Nico quickly caught on to Percy's discomfort and he rolled off him, kissing him in an apology.

They lay side by side on the sticky sheet, both panting and unable to move.

Percy was the first to catch his breath, he turned to Nico and smiled, his green eyes dancing. "So, when are you up for round two?"

Nico raised an eyebrow at him, "aren't you getting a little old to have that much stamina?"

"I'm four years older than you, jackass." Percy rolled on top of him and kissed him, shivering when Nico's fingers trailed up his ass and slipped inside him again.

"Well this explains a lot."

Both men looked over at the front door that was wide open. Jason was grinning brightly while Piper and Leo we're both wide eyed.

"What the FUCK, Jason?!" Percy flailed and scrambled to try and cover him and Nico with a blanket, not that it wasn't already too late.

"I can't say I'm surprised about you and Nico ending up together, but really, Percy, you bottomed?"

Percy cursed at him and threw a pillow at his head. "Get the fuck out of here, Grace!"

Piper grabbed her boyfriend by the ear and dragged him out of there. Leo waved awkwardly, still speechless and closed the door, leaving the two men alone again.

"I should have locked the fucking door," Percy said with a groan. He laid his head down on Nico's chest, the mood completely dead.

"Does he often walk in without knocking?" Nico asked him, his voice sounding amused.

"Unfortunately Bolt Boy has the biggest record for walking in on couples having sex, it's like he has a sixth sense or something. He knows when it's happening I swear." Percy moved up further and buried his face into Nico's neck, trying to steal his warmth.

"I'll kill him later then."

"Please don't, I need him to help me run the camp and control the children."

Nico let out a snort of laughter and wrapped his arms around him. "Perseus?"

"Hmmm…?" Percy replied, barely awake.

"I love you."

Percy felt his heart jump into his throat at Nico's words. He raised his head and looked down at the man under him, hoping his eyes were portraying just how much he felt the same way.

"I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it! Just to let y'all know, this is the first happy ending I've written in any of my recent stories. I'm a sucker for heartbreak now, you should see the book I'm writing ahahaha!
> 
> And just a heads up, if I ever feel like writing something more for this story, I'll be added it as a oneshot but as another chapter. So if a few months down the road this story updates, yes, it's true, there's more for you to read.
> 
> But please don't pressure me into writing anything. If I have to force myself to write it ends up being shit, and no one wants that.
> 
> Love you all~


	12. Only you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hmmmmm... Just a quick thing I wrote?

"It doesn't look THAT bad," Percy said, eyeing his boyfriend with a smirk.

Nico looked absolutely distraught as he picked at the bright orange t-shirt he was wearing. "But it's  _orange._ "

Percy huffed and rolled his eyes at him. "What's wrong with orange? It's just a color, Nico."

"Exactly," Nico pulled at a stray thread. "It's a color, and I never wear color. Can you imagine all the weird looks I'm going to get?"

"Oh come on," Percy grabbed Nico's hands before they could unravel the shirt anymore. "You've been living here for a year already and it's only for one day. Show some camp spirit."

"I'll show them some real  _spirit_  if they want." Nico pulled the shirt off and over his head and tossed it to the side. "Some ghostly spirit if they wish."

Percy was momentarily distracted by Nico's very muscular chest before he managed to focus back on the issue. "Put it back on."

Nico gave him a familiar half smirk and grabbed Percy by his belt loops and pulled him flush against him. "I'd rather help you take yours off as well." He leaned down and very slowly started tracing the outer shell of Percy's ear with his tongue. "Ti amo, Perseus."

"Nico…"

"Sei tutto per me."

"Hey."

"Voglio sempre essere con te."

"Would you stop?" Percy was glaring up at the ceiling as his ear was nibbled on, but he didn't make a move to stop him.

"Senza di te non posso più vivere."

"Yep." Percy could feel his heart fluttering happily in his chest.

"Ti voglio baciare."

Done with his coddling, Percy gripped the taller man by the back of his neck and pulled him close to his face. "Then do it."

Nico grinned at Percy's sassiness and obeyed. He brushed their lips together innocently at first, until Percy dug his nails into the naked skin on his back. Then he was picking the Sea Prince up and slamming him into the nearest wall.

Percy didn't waste any time wrapping his legs around Nico's hips, trying to create more friction. He was a panting mess after only a small make out session, but he still managed to get out, "the kids are waiting."

"They'll have to wait a bit longer." Nico whispered hotly into his ear before kissing him again.

Percy groaned and tangled his fingers in Nico's long hair, deciding to go along with him for now. They were both too stubborn for their own good; Nico wouldn't put him down even if he asked nicely.

He was just about to say 'fuck it' and start undressing them all over again for a quickie (though they already had sex in the shower before the whole orange shirt fiasco). But a knock on the door stopped them anyway.

"Guys?"

Nico let out a growl that sounded like it came more from an animal than a human.  _"Grace_ …"

Percy sighed and motioned for Nico to put him down. The black haired man did so with a grumpy look on his face, but luckily he didn't try to start anything again. It was awkward enough the last time when Jason stood outside their door and  _waited_ for them to  _finish._

Jason must have heard the anger in Nico's voice because he sounded very apologetic. "I know you hate being interrupted but we're about to start…the kids are waiting."

"The kids and me too apparently…" Nico muttered out.

Percy picked up the orange shirt off the floor and hit him with it. "Oh stop it." He raised his voice so Jason could hear him more clearly. "Hold on, Jay, we'll be out in a minute."

Jason sounded amused. "You have five minutes, Perce, and then I'm coming in there to rescue you."

Nico huffed and grabbed the shirt away from Percy, pulling it on once again. "When I get laughed at—"

"I'll drag you off into a dark corner where no one can see and console you," Percy finished for him.

That seemed to satisfy Nico as he gave the shirt one more pout and helping Percy fix his hair so it didn't look so tousled.

When they opened the door, Jason greeted them with a bright smile. "Glad to see you're up and—" He stopped as soon as he saw Nico.

"Don't say anything," Nico hissed at him.

Jason didn't even flinch. "Man, you look miserable. Like…I'm so sorry."

Percy shooed Jason out of the way and grabbed Nico's hand before he could run back into the cabin. "It's not that fucking bad, you two are ridiculous."

Nico grumbled as he followed Percy to whatever hell he was being led to. He tried to remember what exactly they were walking into, but all he could remember was how he managed to distract Percy with sex before he finished his explanation every time he tried.

That had been three weeks ago.

Nico couldn't help if he really didn't care what group events the camp held; he was really just there for Percy.

It's not like the world was in danger or anything, life was rather peaceful. So he didn't see the need to do the famous council meetings or play capture the flag.

Percy, being the concerned person he was, must have thought Nico wasn't joining in the activities because he was still nervous around the others. Or maybe he was still scared to admit to who he was.

Neither of which was true.

He'd just rather be cuddling his Sea Prince then going outside in the sunshine to play with a bunch of brats.

But thinking back on it now he really did wish he'd let Percy finish at least one conversation. He didn't want to appear too clueless to the others.

When they arrived at the designated area, Nico knew immediately that it had something to do with the defeat of Gaia. It was pretty impressive for a bunch of hyperactive demigods to have put it together, and Nico could only assume it was Piper's firm hand that got the whole thing done.

It looked like some sort of fair, with all kinds of booths or games built everywhere. The camp kids were noisily going from one place to another, challenging their friends (or rivals) trying to win prizes or beat scores.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Percy had firmly wrapped an arm around his and Nico couldn't help but smile at the act. "It was a lot of work but it was worth it."

Jason looked more excited than the both of them. "We're gonna start off with an insane capture the flag game, and then end it with some fireworks. BAM!"

Percy shook his head and gave Nico an apologetic look. "If you couldn't tell he's excited about the fireworks. He and Leo have been putting them together for the last two weeks; I can only assume it's going to end badly."

"Just admit it, Jackson; you're jealous because my idea was better than yours." Jason wasn't able to dodge the smack to the back of his head from Percy that almost knocked the glasses off his face.

"What was your idea?" Nico asked Percy who was still glaring at Jason.

Now the green-eyed man just looked embarrassed. "I offered to play capture the flag with an added bit."

"Added bit? That sounds ominous."

"Wait, you didn't tell him?" Jason said. "You were supposed to tell him weeks ago."

"Yeah well," Now Percy was turning completely red. "I got distracted because of reasons."

All three of them fell silent but Jason was the first to speak.

"These reasons wouldn't happen to be sex reasons, would they?"

"Fuck off, Grace."

"Well you wouldn't be in this situation if you had followed your own advice."

Jason prepared himself for another attack but Nico wrapped his arms around Percy before he could escape.

"What is it that you were supposed to tell me weeks ago, Il mio amore."

"Well keep in mind that it's your fault I didn't get to tell you," Percy said as he turned in Nico's arms to face him. "But we decided to add a third group to capture the flag. It's going to my team against Jason's against…"

"Mine…?" Nico finished for him. He wasn't sure if he was happy or miffed about the development. He wasn't planning on taking part in any of the activities, but now that the challenge was issued.

"So you didn't tell me so you could try to get the upper hand? Very smart, Perseus." Nico smiled down at the man in his arms. He tried not to laugh when Percy's expression change from nervous to confused and then to feisty.

"That wasn't what I was planning; I was more stalling because I knew you wouldn't want to do it."

"You two are pathetic," Jason said as he shook his head at the both of them.

Thankfully Piper was the one to interrupt the fight this time. "Are you boys ready yet?"

Percy turned to give her his usual sassy answer, but his voice died in his throat when he saw who was standing beside her.

Annabeth smiled back at him, her pretty gray eyes looking almost silver in the light from the sun.

Piper gave him an apologetic look and he wasn't aware he was stepping backwards until his back hit Nico's hard chest.

"Hello again, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth didn't waste any time walking right up to him and pulling him in for a hug and giving him a chaste kiss on the cheek.

"Heya, Wise Girl." Despite the initial awkwardness, Percy hugged her back as hard as he could. It didn't matter that they weren't dating anymore, he still missed Annabeth, she and Grover were his first best friends. "What are you doing here?"

Annabeth stepped back a bit but she kept a hand on his wrist. It was probably just out of excitement as she started talking about all the events that led her to coming back to the camp, but he didn't want to look at Nico right now.

"I was in the area so I decided to stop by and I was happy to find out you were planning a game of capture the flag with the children of the big three facing off. I figure we could team up, for old time's sake?"

"Congrats, Jackson," Jason said, trying to ease some of the tension. "Your chances went from thirty percent to forty five."

"Why don't you go flying fuck yourself, Grace?" Percy looked at Annabeth and smiled. "We're gonna win this one."

"I'm afraid that is still up for debate, Perseus," Nico said. He leaned down and kissed him on the cheek, much like Annabeth did before. "I'm going to gather my team and go over the plan with them, I'll see you later."

"Go find Will, he'll help you," Jason called after Nico before he sauntered off.

Percy was worried that Annabeth would try to talk about him and Nico, or maybe change her mind about teaming up with him. But a familiar determined look was back on her face as she pushed Jason away from them and pulled him close so he couldn't overhear.

"Okay, here's the plan—"

* * *

The teams were all very well divided, despite Nico not being a big part of the camp.

Percy figured it was more out of curiosity that the kids had joined the Ghost King's team, but he was happy that they weren't scared of him like before.

In fact, as Percy starred at his boyfriend while he talked to the Apollo kids (and a few other smaller cabins that had joined his group) he was surprised to see that the kids adored him.

Cesar, an 11 year old boy from the Hephaestus cabin, was actually comfortably seated on Nico's back. Every once and a while the kid would start playing with Nico's silky black hair; the grin on the kid's face was visible even from across the field.

"You're awfully distracted," Annabeth said as she approached. "Are you worried Nico's going to beat you?"

Percy wasn't sure if she was trying to avoid the inevitable (were you always gay?) question, but he wished she would just ask it. It felt like she was trying to ignore the fact that he was with Nico.

Or maybe she just didn't really care.

So ignoring her question he asked, "You do know that me and Nico are together, right?"

Her gray eyes widened with surprise and Percy could feel his stomach sink down to his feet.

Then she smacked him on the arm.

"Of course I know that, Seaweed Brain. I'm a little mad that I had to find out from Piper, but I'm happier to know that you're happy." She rubbed his arm that now had a red mark on it. "You know we're still friends right? Don't be afraid to tell me anything, I'll always love you and I want to be there for you."

She turned in nodded in Nico's direction. "And judging by the display that's being presented to us, your dream of kids is still on the table, and I intend to be the best aunt in the world."

"I…" Percy wasn't sure what to say, other than he was so happy she still wanted to be friends with him. It was easy with Grover whose reaction had been, "sweet, he's a catch, now pass the tin can." But Annabeth was the scary one since they had dated before.

"Were you always gay?" She finally asked.

He knew she only asked it so he could finally say it to get it off his chest.

"No, not when I was with you."

"Then stop stressing, we tried our best and it's in the past now." She hugged him quickly and then let go. "I repeat; I'm happy for you, now let's win us a game."

In the end, Nico ended up winning just because Percy's team and Jason's team were too engaged in beating the crap out of each other to remember he was there.

Annabeth almost managed to steal the flag away from Nico, but with his new abilities, he easy avoided her, even when she was wearing her cap.

"You two meatballs never change," Annabeth said to Jason and Percy as they sat there pouting about their defeat.

Nico was standing nearby, still looking miserable in his now slightly dirty orange t-shirt, but he was pleased.

"They do this every time," Piper said as she laid a blanket down for them to sit on. They had picked a spot under a large tree overlooking the whole camp, that way they could still keep an eye on things.

Piper hadn't joined the games that day because she wasn't feeling well, and she felt bad because she would have smacked sense into the both of them. It was too late for that now.

Leo was pleased though, he kept hi-fiving Nico at every opportunity and making fun of Jason.

"Percy and Jason fight and Nico just lets them because the more they're fighting the more he can slink off into the shadows like a cat."

"I don't disagree with that observation," Nico said as he nibbled on an apple.

They continued talking (bickering for some) until the sun had set low into the sky and it started turning dark.

The celebration had been a success so far, and everyone was excited for the fireworks. None more so than Jason and Leo who were practically jumping with excitement by the time they left to go get them ready.

The girls got comfy and sat next to each other while Percy wiggled his way into Nico's arms. They were sitting close enough that they could hear the girls whispering but couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

"I think Piper and Jason are going to be parents," Nico said quietly.

"What?" Percy wanted to look at Nico and see if he was joking, but Nico was using the top of his head for a pillow and he was really comfy. "How did you come to that conclusion?"

He felt Nico shrug.

"I've felt something off about her, every time she's around us I keep thinking she's with another person. My powers don't lie, I sense something; and she was sick today too."

Percy wondered if he could use his own powers to see for himself. He opened up his mind, tapping into that strength that was always there within reach.

"Holy shit."

"I know." Percy knew Nico was smiling from the tone of his voice. "Just imagine there are going to be two Jason's running around."

"That's not cool, Neeks." Percy thought about how cute their kid was going to be, all dark hair and blue eyes. "They're lucky."

"Hmmmm?" Nico kissed Percy's ear. "Are you getting baby brain now?"

"I am not, shut up." Percy moved his head away but that only gave Nico access to his neck, something Nico took full advantage off.

"I'm just saying they're lucky because they get to have kids that are a part of them both and we…"

"Perseus."

Nico kissed the top of his head.

"I wouldn't be too worried about that, I think the Gods owe us more than a few favours, I'm sure we could convince them to help us. Stop worrying about it."

"Well if that's how you feel," Percy said happily. He was glad Nico was at least considering having kids with him. Not that they had to rush it because they were both really happy right now, but some day.

"Imagine all the sex we won't have after we have kids," Nico said after a short silence.

Percy elbowed him. "Pervert."

They all jumped when the first firework shot off into the sky. After a loud whistle it exploded into colors and imagery.

Somehow, between Leo and Jason, they had managed to make the fireworks more into a lightshow in the sky that formed pictures that moved.

It was retelling the story of all the great accomplishments of Percy and everyone so many years ago. Percy wouldn't admit it, but he got a little nervous when a firework exploded into a giant Festus and started flying around the camp.

When the show ended with the defeat of Gaia, they all stood up (Nico needed some encouragement) and cheered.

"That was pretty cool," Percy said to Jason and Leo as they met up with them on the way back to their cabins.

"Well it was mostly my brains and some of his beauty," Leo said as he played with something in his pockets. "But we managed to pull it together."

Percy laughed and looked over his shoulder for Nico, but the Ghost King was nowhere near him. It took him a few seconds of searching (hey it was dark) to locate his wayward boyfriend.

What he wasn't expecting was to see him standing a long ways away talking to Annabeth.

He knew he had nothing to worry about, but that didn't stop him from doing so.

The feeling only got worse when Nico walked away from Annabeth and disappeared into the shadows.

_"What the hell?"_

He trusted Nico to come back when he was done doing whatever he was doing. Sometimes the younger man would vanish for hours at a time, only to come back like nothing had happened.

He said goodbye to all his friends (while trying to not look too hard at Piper) and made his way back to his cabin.

It was always so much lonelier with Nico gone, but he knew he'd wake up with the Italian back in his bed come morning. So he got undressed and climbed into bed, drifting off to sleep as soon as his head touched the pillows.

* * *

Percy was very disappointed when he woke up the next morning in his bed; still alone.

"Nico?" He called out. Even though he would have been able to sense him if he was near.

Of course there was no answer.

But someone did knock on his door.

He pulled on some jeans and one of Nico's discarded black t-shirts before pulling the door open. He was expecting Jason but was surprised to see Annabeth standing there.

"Good, just the person I wanted to talk to." Percy pulled her into his cabin and closed the door in case Jason decided to interrupt.

Annabeth didn't look at all concerned as she walked over to his couch and took a seat. "What's up?"

Percy didn't bother tip-toeing around the issue. "What did Nico say to you last night before he left?"

"He said he was leaving for a few hours and he wanted me to keep an eye on you and catch up with things."

But she wasn't looking him in the eye, which meant there was something more.

"Did you say anything to him?"

"Like what?" She looked confused at first but then seemed to catch on. "Come on, Percy, Nico's a big boy now, even if I did say something to him he could take it."

But Percy knew something was wrong, he could feel it. "You better hope you're right."

He really hoped she didn't say anything to scare Nico off. The man was far past the days where he would run to the underworld to daddy, but part of him didn't trust Nico not to.

He did end up hanging out with Annabeth for the rest of the day, showing her how well the camp was going and what had improved. It took a while to show her all the new cabins that Jason had built for the minor gods as well.

He wasn't exactly doing it to be friendly, but he knew the more he hung out with her the better the chance he had of getting information out of her.

When Nico still didn't make an appearance that night, Percy's fears increased.

Jason was there for him the next day. Annabeth must have told him whatever was going on because he was acting shifty around him as well.

Eventually he told them all off and shut himself in his cabin, hoping that one of them would crack and just tell him what they knew.

But they left him alone.

On the third day Percy considered asking if he could take a quest to go find his boyfriend.

On the fifth day he started thinking that he was once again single.

On the seventh day he was murderous.

* * *

"Perseus?"

Percy shot up out of bed so fast he would have flown right off it had a pair of strong arms not caught him.

"Nico?!"

He was placed back on the bed and then Nico walked away from him to turn on the lights.

Percy let out a sigh of relief when he saw Nico standing there in all his black jeans and leather jacket glory.

The man looked more like he had been out on a casual stroll than an 8 day trip away from home.

Percy didn't realize he was glaring until Nico asked, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Percy got off the bed and stood in front of him. "What's wrong is that you left without telling me where you were going and I thought you broke up with me."

"Broke up with you?" Nico looked concerned now.

"Yes, broke up with me!" Percy threw his hands in the air. "I thought Annabeth told you to fuck off or just said something to upset you and you took off to the underworld to go live as a fucking hermit."

"A hermit?"

Percy could feel a chill surround him as Nico narrowed his eyes at him.

"You think," Nico said as he stepped forward and Percy took a step back. "That I would leave you and become a hermit because of something Annabeth said to me?"

"Well I don't know all I know is that I saw you talking to her and then you were gone." Percy yelped as Nico grabbed him and slammed him against his body.

"You thought I left because of  _Annabeth_?" Nico roughly grabbed Percy's chin and forced him to look at him. "Let me tell you something,  _Perseus_ , I would never leave you for anyone or anything. I would rip the world apart to be with you. I would shatter my soul to be with you."

Percy really wasn't sure if he was supposed to be scared or happy anymore.

"Don't ever underestimate my love for you, Perseus."

Nico smirked one last time before he leaned down and kissed him.

Percy grabbed onto him and held him close; afraid he would disappear if he let him go again. He didn't know he was being led over to the bed until the back of his legs were bumping against the bed.

Nico pushed him down and then started taking his clothes off, slowly enough for a show but not slow enough to tease too much.

"I've missed you, bello." Nico started undoing his pants but Percy growled and pushed his hands away, finishing the job himself.

Once the rest of his clothes were out of the way, Percy took Nico's dick in his hand and stroked it a few times before taking it in his mouth.

When Nico groaned above him he felt a thrill of pleasure run right down his spine. He didn't fight when his face was pulled closer; he only moaned around the dick in his mouth and dug his nails into Nico's ass.

"Fuck."

Percy wished he could laugh but that wasn't going to work right now. Instead he focused on taking all of Nico in just like he had been taught to. Without much effort Nico was soon fucking his face and cursing and moaning the whole time.

They had to stop before Nico lost it too early, but Percy still wined anyway.

"You better hurry up and fuck me or I'll just fuck you instead."

Nico looked surprised at first, but then he laughed and shook his head. "Get on your hands and knees and shut up."

Percy flipped him off but did as he was told, getting on his knees and leaning on his elbows. He wiggled his ass at Nico, "good enough view for you?"

"Molto bene," Nico muttered before crawling over to the bed and sitting behind Percy. He started kissing all over his back and shoulders, running his fingers all over him and almost tickling him. Then he kissed a trail down his spine toward his ass.

Percy grabbed at the sheets, he knew what was going to happen next but it still didn't stop the shock of Nico's tongue entering him.

"Oh gods."

Nico dragged his nails down Percy's back and pulled away. "The gods have nothing to do with it." Then he shoved his tongue back inside of him.

"Cocky bastard," Percy mumbled. He could feel himself sweating now as Nico used his devilish tongue to tease him. He was just about to ask for more when he felt a finger push inside of him to join. He tried to push back to get more but Nico held him still and he growled.

"Stop holding onto me!"

He felt the tongue disappear as Nico pulled out so he could lean over him. "Do you want more, amore?"

" _Yes_." He hissed out and then moaned as another finger joined the first one and they pushed against his prostate.

Now Nico allowed him to move against him. As Percy tried desperately to get the fingers deeper inside him, Nico continued to kiss his shoulder or bite his ears.

"Do you want it?" Nico asked him after a particularly hard jab to his prostate.

"Yessssss." Percy reached behind him and grabbed a handful of Nico's hair. "I want you to  _fuck_ me. Now."

Even though he gave the command, he still yelped as he was thrown onto his back. He could barely contain his excitement as Nico briefly left to grab a bottle of lube from the bedside table. Then he was back, kissing Percy like he hadn't seen him in 8 fucking days.

Nico placed Percy's legs on his shoulders and quickly lubed himself before pushing inside slowly. He wanted Percy to feel every inch as it slid inside him.

"Ni—Nico…" Percy groaned and he was completely filled to the point of it being painful. Nico was there in that instant, kissing him to distract him from the pain.

"Are you ready?"

Percy nodded his head.

Nico pulled out until only the tip remained before slamming back inside. Percy cried out and accidently dug his nails into Nico's leg as he was fucked into oblivion.

After a year of being together, Nico knew exactly how to make his body sing. Percy moaned and gasped as Nico rotated his hips as he thrust inside, hitting that amazing spot inside of him.

Percy moved his legs around Nico's waist so he could dig his heels into his ass and move with him more easily. Then Nico tilted them just slightly and went deeper and Percy cried out in pleasure.

"Ti amo, Perseus." Nico pistoned his hips, determined to make his lover come. He didn't even flinch when Percy clawed at his back hard enough to draw blood as he was fucked to the edge.

With a silent scream, Percy came hard.

He groaned as Nico bit down on his shoulder and thrust a few more times before finding his own release.

Both sweaty and out of breath, Nico kissed Percy on the forehead a few times before rolling off him and onto his back with a groan.

"Holy…" Percy tried to talk but he was too out of breath to finish.

"Fuck…?" Nico started laughing and he rolled over so he could lay his head on Percy's sweating chest.

Percy took advantage of the situation and started playing with Nico's soft hair. "Ti amo…ahh…too, Nico."

Nico chuckled and sighed, almost falling to sleep.

"So why was everyone acting so weird when I wanted to know where you went?" Percy asked him. "Better yet, where the fuck did you go?"

Nico shrugged. "I went to see my father."

"Really?" Percy tried not to get mad, but he was kind of irked. "You could have just told me that, there was no reason to make it all a big secret."

Nico propped his head up and looked at him. "Alright, so I tell you that my father summons me and then you happily wait here for me to return? No way, you're Perseus, you would have to follow me and then my father would get annoyed and then—"

"Okay I get it, shut up."

Nico smiled and laid his head back down. "I only was talking to Annabeth to suggest she keep you company while I was gone; I didn't want you to be lonely."

"I'm always lonely when you leave me, it doesn't matter who is with me."

He could feel Nico's breath come out in a huff.

"I only want you, Nico."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Waaahhhh! After what, a year..? I wrote some more. I might do one more thing with these guys but yeah... I'm trying to work on my book so ifI have extra time I will!
> 
> Sorry about all the spelling mistakes, my head is killing me


	13. Motherfucking Ghost King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't even know.
> 
> Enjoy.

"You're such an old man now," Nico drawled out as Percy sat beside him on the bed. "But you don't look too bad for a twenty seven year old."

"Thinking of leaving me for a young pool boy, are you?" Percy grinned as he pulled off his boot and threw it to the side. Nico would complain about it later he was sure, but for now the Ghost King was looking at him like he was about to make a distraction.

"Depends," Nico barely waited for Percy to take his other boot before he was pinning him to the bed. "Would the pool boy be able to keep up with me for the next couple hours?" He ducked down and trailed his nose over the sensitive places on Percy's neck.

Percy let out a content sigh as his boyfriend continued to tickle and kiss his neck. He was really trying to get into it, but there was something nagging him. Almost like there was something behind him and he kept looking over his shoulder to find it.

"Is something wrong?" Nico caught onto the Percy's mood and paused his affections. "Are you having dreams again? Or did something bother you at the party?"

"No, my birthday party was fine; it was great seeing every one again."

"So is it the fact that you're another year older then?" Nico smirked down at him. "Are you having a midlife crisis?"

Percy shook his head; he didn't think that was it. "No…" He went quiet, his brain trying to think of a way to explain it to Nico. "You know when there's calm before the storm?"

Nico's pretty hazel eyes narrowed. "Calm before the storm? Perseus, tell me what's wrong." He sat up now and pulled Percy with him, moving them until Nico was on his back with Percy lying on top of him.

Now extremely comfy and relaxed, Percy inhaled Nico's scent and closed his eyes. "I don't even know what it is right now, Neeks, I just feel like I keep having dreams that are really important but I can't remember."

Nico was silent now, and Percy could tell he was upset about something.

Percy sighed and propped himself up on his arms so he could look at Nico, "I'm sure it's nothing, I'm just getting senile in my old age." He grinned at the broody Italian, trying to change the mood before Nico did something drastic.

Nico didn't smile; he was already lost in his head.

Percy tried something else.

"Did you see how big little Indigo is getting? Jason must have his hands full every day, she's way too energetic."

If there was anything that could distract the Ghost King, it was talking about kids.

Nico let out a breath and smiled at him, "she has an obsession with my hair; she kept calling it fur."

Percy chuckled. He remembered looking for his boyfriend for most of the day and Nico could always be found with Indy hanging off him. "She has some awesome eye mutation though, Jay was telling me about it. I guess the bottom half of her right eye has the shape of an eagle?"

Percy tried very hard that day to get a good look at it since Jason always talked about how unique his precious Indigo was, but the kid never stayed still long enough for Percy to look.

"Yep, her eyes are bright blue and there's a very obvious brown eagle in her right eye." He scoffed and shook his head. "I really did think Jason was joking; now I owe Leo ten dollars."

"Oh like that will break your bank," Percy rolled off him and onto his back. "If Leo really wanted to take a risk he would have bet one thousand."

Nico rolled onto his side so that he was facing Percy, "and how exactly would he go about paying me if he lost?"

"Well I'm sure Hazel could loan him some gems or something."

When there was an awkward silence following, Percy looked at Nico.

"What?"

Nico had one eyebrow raised, as if waiting for Percy to remember something.

"Neeks?"

Nico shook his head and then reached over to pinch his cheek. "You do remember that if anyone touches Hazel's jewels, they die, right?"

"Oh shit, right," Percy laughed and then started laughing a bit hard. "Hazel's jewels…"

"Seriously?" Nico pinched his cheek a little harder. "Are you really going to laugh about something like that? It wasn't even meant to be perverted."

Percy slapped his hand away, "no, I know, it was just the way you said 'Hazel's jewels', your accent popped out a bit and yeah, I'll shut up."

Percy got off the bed so he could go get a shower and Nico watched him leave.

"I better not find you and Jason giggling about this tomorrow like a bunch of girls."

Percy's only answer was a laugh that was half covered up by the sound of water running.

Nico got out of bed and undressed, and then he shadow traveled into the shower and wrapped his arms around Percy who wasn't even fazed by the surprise.

He stopped being able to scare Percy a long time ago.

"Just because you distracted me with your dorkiness does not mean I'll drop the previous subject," he said lowly while letting his breath ghost over Percy's ear.

Percy shivered but continued to soap up his skin.

"Perseus?" Nico trailed his hands down Percy's sides to rest on his hips.

Percy started humming a tune from his favorite Disney movie.

Nico frowned and move his hands to grope Percy's ass. "Percy?"

The humming got louder.

Deciding that he'd had enough, Nico pinned the shorter man to the wall and slipped his leg in between Percy's. "You're so annoying."

Percy laughed and leaned back to kiss him. "And you're a brat, but I love you anyway."

\------------------------------------------

For the next week Percy tried everything in his power to try and shake the bad feeling he had away. He hung out with Leo who was living permanently at the camp; Iris massaged Annabeth to see how she was doing in school…

He even called Jason who was living at Camp Jupiter to tell him about the 'Hazel' incident.

Percy still couldn't understand why Nico didn't find it funny, even Hazel laughed.

His relief came when Grover returned with a small group of demi-gods he'd sniffed out, there was nothing like the distraction of new kids to care for.

After he got the kids set up in the Hermes cabin he made bets with Leo on who their godly parents were.

"I'd say ten dollars on the blond girl being Apollo's, the brown hair boy is definitely Athena, man he's a snob." Leo smiled and chewed on his sandwich.

Percy elbowed him and almost knocked the sandwich out of Leo's hands. "He's a kid! You can't call him a snob!"

"Fine then, a brat."

"Nope, that's Nico."

Leo regarded Nico who was helping a child of Aphrodite with her fighting stance. "Yeah, the man who's sex on two legs is a brat, you're hilarious."

Percy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "You guys don't know my pain, you don't live with him. He flashes you that smile and you all melt but really he's a needy and clingy brat."

"We could always trade for a week and see if you can prove me wrong," Leo bit into his sandwich like he was hungry.

Percy smacked him. "I'm not trading."

"Fine," Leo grinned at him. "We'll just borrow him and I'll tell you how it goes, Calypso always talks about him, I'd sure she wouldn't mind."

Percy started hitting him repeatedly after every word. "Stop. Perving. After. My. Boyfriend."

Leo somehow managed to keep hold of his sandwich, and he snickered while he ate the rest of it.

Just when Percy thought he was safe, Leo spoke again.

"So what about the last kid?"

"Huh?"

"You got water in your ears, man? The last kid Grovs brought, he's a bit creepy." Leo narrowed his eyes in the direction of the kid they were talking about.

The black-haired kid was wandering around nervously, completely avoiding everyone as best as he could.

Percy had no idea who his godly parent could be; every time he was near the boy his hair stood on end. It didn't help that the green necklace that the kid was wearing turned out to be a green snake.

Percy had never seen Leo jump away from someone so fast.

"Tyler Phillips." Leo continued to glare at the kid. "You know, if his name was more unique I would say he's a son of Hades, he must not be main character material."

Percy gave him a weird look. "Main—never mind."

You never asked with Leo; that was something you learned.

"I'm betting he's a son of Apollo," Percy finally said.

It was Leo's turn to give him a weird look. "He's not even blond! He's the opposite of blond, Percy."

"He's good with animals."

"He's not blond."

Percy was trying not to laugh; Leo was getting so worked up. "Maybe he's a snowflake, don't judge him."

"If you're not going to take this game seriously I'm not playing anymore," Leo pushed him gently and then stalked off.

Percy stuck his tongue out at Leo's retreating back and went to go find the subject of their spat. He didn't want the kid to get run over by a Centaur or something.

But the kid was nowhere near anything dangerous Percy noted as he hooked onto the kid's life signal and followed it. He was just at the edge of the forest, not moving.

Percy almost tripped over a few Hermes kids before he found him.

"Tyler?"

Hazel eye turned on him and Percy felt that same hair rising feeling again. Whoever this kid was, he was different.

"What are you doing?" He stopped a few feet away from the kid and slipped his hands in his pocket so he looked less threatening.

Tyler didn't seem to mind though; he turned away from Percy and placed his hand on the ground. A green snake slithered out from under a bush and wrapped itself around the boy's arm. "I was taking Oni for a walk."

Percy had to bite his tongue to stop himself from making a comment about how the snake didn't have legs to walk on. "Okay, don't wander too far, and if you need anything just ask anyone to give you directions to my cabin."

The kid shrugged and Percy smiled at him before leaving him there to 'walk' his snake.

The new kids were getting weirder and weirder.

He met Nico a little while later for dinner.

The Ghost King was in deep conversation with Will when he showed up and when Will spotted him the two of them quickly turned away from each other.

"Hey, Percy!"

Will didn't look nervous at all.

Not at all.

"What are you two up to?" Percy took his seat next to Nico and tried to get Nico to look at him.

Nico avoided his gaze.

"Nothing, we were just discussing…healing techniques…" Will smiled and clapped Nico on the shoulder. "Anyway, have a good night guys, good talk, Nico!"

Percy watched Will all but trip over himself to get away.

Percy waited a few seconds for Nico to explain, but when Nico continued not to look at him he tried something else.

"Were you touching each other's dicks or something?"

That got Nico's attention; he swerved around so he could glare at Percy.

"Perseus!"

"What? You've said worse." Percy left to go get some food before Nico could say anything else. That man was waaaay too easy.

He gathered a plate for him and Nico and returned to the table; he didn't realize just how hungry he was.

"Pomegranate?" Percy held the fruit out to Nico and tried not to laugh when he got another glare.

Nico took the fruit anyway.

As they ate and talked he completely ignored the topic of what Will and Nico were doing before he showed up. Whatever it was, Percy trusted Nico to tell him in all good time.

Once Nico realized he wasn't going to get interrogated, he loosened up and enjoyed his meal.

They stayed out late that night, even going to the group hang out that night to watch Leo retell the tales of all of the demi-gods epic adventures to the new kids. He loved watching the excitement in the newcomer's faces, the determination to be a hero and go on great quests.

Percy envied them somewhat, he didn't think he had the heart to back out on a quest anymore; he'd even turned down the few that were offered to him. It was time for someone else to take their place in the spotlight; he was too old for fame and glory.

Eventually Nico bothered him enough until he went back to the Hades cabin with him. Once they were behind closed doors, Nico pushed him up against a wall and kissed him slowly.

"What's gotten into you today?" Percy tried to ask in between kisses.

Nico ignored him and held on tighter as he kissed and nibbled on his neck, chin and lips.

Eventually they ended up on the bed with Percy splayed out under Nico's looming form. The Ghost King was making a huge effort tonight, he pulled Percy's shirt off and kissed every inch of his chest. When he was done there, he moved onto his arms making sure to pay special attention to the tattoo on Percy's arm.

"Neeks?"

Nico paused and looked at Percy, a sly smirk on his face. "Yes, Perseus?"

"Are you planning on kissing every inch of my body?"

Nico shrugged and got off him so he could flip him over on his stomach. "Maybe."

The kisses continued on his shoulders and the back of his neck, down his spine and back up to his shoulder blades.

Percy was almost asleep he was so relaxed under Nico's touches.

"But I was more trying to work up the courage to give you something."

That woke Percy up faster than a bucket of cold water.

Before he could turn and ask Nico what he was talking about, Nico took Percy's right hand in his own and carefully slipped something on his index finger. He felt the touch of Nico's warm lips on the cold metal object on his finger before Nico pulled away so he could inspect it.

"A promise ring?" Percy brought the ring closer so he could so it. It was made of the same kind of metal as Nico's sword, as black as onyx with silver waves etched into it.

He turned around so he could look at Nico and he smiled when he saw how red Nico's face was. "Is this what you were showing Will?"

Nico nodded. "I was asking him if he thought it was a good idea. Apparently he thought we'd already done something like this, actually he thought we were married." The last part was grumbled out.

Percy did laugh then, "That figures." Percy looked at the ring again, his stomach doing a couple happy flips. He leaned up and kissed Nico's cheek and then his lips. "Thank you, it's beautiful."

He looked relived. "It's not too weird is it?"

"Nope," Percy pulled Nico on top of him. "It's cute actually, but now I have to come up with something better for you."

"Fuck off."

Nico bit his neck a bit harder than his loves bites before. "You can't outdo me; I'm the motherfucking Ghost King."

"Does that make me your Queen of the Damned?"

Nico's head shot up so he could look at him, "what?"

"Hmmm, I guess we'll have to watch those movies too." Percy pulled Nico in for another kiss to distract him and for once, Nico didn't question him further.

\------------------------------------------------------------

Percy was so warm; there was no way he was getting out of bed any time soon.

He could feel Nico's warm back pressed against his side so he rolled over so he could spoon the taller man. He tried not to laugh as Nico purred and moved back so that he was more comfortably getting snuggles.

No one would ever believe him if he told them that Nico was a total cuddle slut.

He tried to go back to sleep before he ended up staying awake for longer than intended, but his mind was being stubborn.

Eventually, after lying there for an hour, he detangled himself from Nico and crawled out of bed.

It was summer so it wasn't cold out; he pulled on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt a quietly made his way out of the Hades cabin.

Of course this wasn't really allowed, but Percy knew a few tricks by now so that he didn't get caught. He'd had enough experience when it came to losing sleep; after Tartarus sometimes his brain just wouldn't shut off.

That's when he knew it was time for a swim.

The ocean made no noise except for the crashing waves on the shore. Percy took a deep breath of salty air and slowly walked into the water. Once he was deep enough he dove in propelled himself away from land.

He didn't stop until he found a nice patch of clear sand at the bottom to lie on. Really it was like lying on the beach in the sun; except it was…under water and there was only moonlight…

A couple creatures came to see him but other than that he was left alone to his own devices. He wasn't there for too long before the sun started coming up and Percy pushed off the ocean floor and made his way back to the shore.

Nico didn't like waking up alone, something Percy found adorable so he couldn't complain.

He hoisted himself onto the dock and dried off; the sunrise was turning out to be really pretty that morning so he decided to stay and watch it.

"I can't believe Nico gave me a ring last night."

He held his hand up and admired the black and silver metal.

"That's pretty."

"Gah!" Percy grabbed Riptide and uncapped it, pointing it at the person who spoke.

It was just Tyler.

"Holy crap, kid, nice of you to sneak up on me." Percy smiled at him and put Riptide away before he scared the boy. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Tyler stepped a bit closer to Percy, like he was trying to get a closer look at the ring.

Percy held his hand up so he could see it better. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Is it precious to you?" Tyler's big hazel eyes looked up at him and Percy grinned.

"Yep, it's probably one of my top three," he twirled the ring on his finger. "It was given to me by someone who is also precious to me."

Tyler smiled for the first time since he arrived at the camp. "Oni is someone precious to me," he said as he unraveled the snake from his neck. "He likes you, you should pet him."

Percy was glad the kid was finally starting to open up to him; he was scared he would run from everyone forever. "Sure thing, you promise he won't bite?"

Tyler smiled brighter. "Not unless you hurt him first."

"Well then there's no problem," Percy stepped closer and reached his hand out. His fingers brushed over the green scales and he was surprised at how warm and soft they were. "He's actually kind of cute."

He was cute, until the snake reared its head and bit his arm.

Luckily Percy didn't flail; he just waited for the snake to get bored of biting him. It only lasted a few seconds before it was over.

Tyler looked truly upset. "I'm sorry, he doesn't normally do that."

Percy waved away his concerns. "It's okay, he doesn't know me; I should have seen it coming." He rubbed at the blood that appeared on his arm. "You should head back to camp now; it will be time for breakfast soon."

Tyler nodded and hurried off before Percy could suggest walking back with him.

"What a strange kid."

He made his way to the Poseidon cabin so he could get changed and ready for the day. He decided to take a shower before getting changed into his jeans and orange camp t-shirt. He was just drying his hair when his door opened and a warm body pressed against his.

"Morning."

Nico wrapped Percy up in a hug and leaned do to kiss Percy's neck.

He wasn't expecting Percy to shove him away and fix him with a scared and confused expression.

"Perseus?"

"Di Angelo?" Percy's eyes were wide with confusion. "What are you doing?"

Nico raised an eyebrow at him, "What do you mean?"

Percy glared at him then, and Nico was taken aback by the ferocity of it. "I mean, why are you in my cabin, and why the hell are you hugging me?"


	14. Cold Hands, Warm Metal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long wait... I just moved to my new place and had to get settled in. Hopefully nothing comes up and I can update regularly, but honestly I loose track of time and forget that two weeks have past. 
> 
> Has it been two weeks or three?
> 
> Actually knowing me it's been two months...
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

He didn't feel like getting up but he knew if he didn't it would only take so long for Leo or gods forbid, _Clarisse_ to come get him.

To say he wasn't having the time of his life lately would be an understatement.

Ever since that morning when Nico randomly walked in his cabin to hug him (he was still convinced he was the victim of one of Leo's pranks) people had been treating him weirdly. He had been the recipient of more than a few weird looks and on top of that his friends talked to him like he was forgetting something.

Maybe it was because he freaked out so bad at Nico, but really, he almost gave Percy a heart attack. That guy was way too quiet for his own good.

Even though he was still reluctant to get out of bed, Percy dragged himself from away from the warm blankets and into the shower.

The water helped sooth him as usual and he was almost falling asleep again by the time he closed his eyes and leaned against the tiled wall.

He couldn't help but think that there was something missing or that there was supposed to be someone in the shower with him. The thought was pretty weird since he knew Annabeth broke up with him years ago.

"I'm starting to get a headache because I'm thinking too much…" He muttered and turned to tap off.

Percy barely had time to pull on his boxers and pants before his door opened his heart almost gave out.

Annabeth was standing there, she was so still and quiet that Percy knew he was in trouble. He could see the storm brewing in her gray eyes and he was familiar with the look; and with the sun shining from behind her she looked like an avenging angel.

Percy swallowed nervously.

Annabeth stepped inside and closed the door; with the sunlight gone the room felt much colder now.

"Hey, Annabeth…" Percy pulled his camp t-shirt on and briefly thought about putting his hand in his pocket just in case he needed Riptide.

She didn't say anything as she walked right up to him and placed her warm hands on either side of his face.

He awkwardly stood there as she stared intensely at him.

After a long, painful minute she finally spoke.

"It doesn't look like there are any signs of brain damage," she said in her usual quip tone.

"Oh ha ha, jerk." Percy tried to push her away but she started running her hands through his hair, her fingers dancing all over his head.

"There aren't any bumps either, strange."

She didn't stop until Percy grabbed her by the arms and pushed her away so she couldn't grope his head anymore. "What are you talking about?"

But she ignored the question, "why aren't you talking to Nico?"

"Nico?" Percy felt a sharp pain in his chest, like he was about to panic. "Is he still mad because I yelled at him when he scared me? It was nothing personal I just wasn't expecting it."

"You weren't expecting it?" It was her turn to be confused. "What do you mean?"

"What do you mean? Nico coming out of nowhere and hugging me when I'm half asleep is fine because I know we're friends but still… I didn't even know he was that huggy and I didn't think he was that comfortable with me."

Percy couldn't understand why Annabeth was looking at him like he had two heads. He didn't think he'd ever be capable of rendering Annabeth Chase speechless.

They stood there looking at each other for a moment longer before Annabeth pulled away, like she was observing him entirely.

"You're really not joking, are you?" She spoke quietly.

Percy wasn't sure if he should answer, not that he would know how to because he didn't understand what she was talking about. He started twisting the ring on his finger, his mind trying to form words in his head to make the situation less awkward.

He didn't miss the way Annabeth's eyes looked at the ring.

"That's pretty," she said finally.

Percy let out a breath of relief, he wasn't sure if he was still in trouble but Annabeth wasn't yelling yet so he counted his blessings. "It's nice, I think it was a gift from someone I must have got a few years ago…or maybe I found it?" He stopped playing with the metal and shrugged. "It doesn't really matter."

"Uh huh…"

Percy smiled and tried to change the subject, "so what are you doing here anyway? Aren't you busy with your job these days? I thought you couldn't take another vacation until winter?"

But Annabeth was already backing away and opening the door. "Sorry, I don't have time to catch up right now, I'll be back later."

She was gone without a wave or a goodbye.

Percy watched the door close and latch before he finally relaxed.

_"I haven't seen her that upset in a long time…"_

He twisted the ring on his finger again and then glared down at it. "You're making me develop a nervous twitch."

The ring remained silent.

He pulled it off his finger and inspected it; the black metal really was pretty.

"Well if I can't remember where I got you, you can't be that important." He went over next to his bed and placed the ring on the bedside table.

The same sharp pain came back to his chest the moment he looked away from it; Percy shook off his panic and continued out the door.

He was getting too old for all this stress.

 

* * *

 

 

Nico felt his heart sink as Annabeth told him about Percy.

At first the whole situation seemed funny; Percy sometimes played games with him when he wanted to annoy Nico. He had never gone as far as pretending to forget who Nico was but he figured Percy was just being cheeky.

It was when he tried to move in and hug him again and he sensed the real confusion and saw the look in Percy's eyes when he finally stopped.

Percy was not joking; he really was extremely confused as to why Nico was touching him.

Suddenly, in that moment, Nico was fifteen again and chasing after someone so far out of his reach. He felt all the fear and the sadness come back at once and within seconds he had shadow travelled back to his cabin.

He hadn't spoken to Percy since.

And he really, really missed him.

Percy was such a constant thing in his life, it was painful to get up every morning and not find him next to him.

But Nico didn't have time to wallow in his depression; he needed to find out what the hell happened.

The last few days had been spent trying to get any clues to Percy's condition.

Leo had been the first to approach their friend.

He spent the whole day with Percy, trying subtly to bring up Nico and their friendship, trying to jog his memories. Nico was sick to his stomach when Leo told him that Percy had acted like he knew nothing about his relationship with Nico. According to Percy they were friends, and not even close friends.

Jason was his best friend, not Nico.

Luckily Jason was still close by so it wasn't a big deal for him to come back. Piper told him not to come home until they figured out what was happening.

Jason was a bit more direct, going as far as asking why Percy wasn't going back to Nico's cabin to sleep.

Apparently Percy thought this was all one big joke and that they were all pulling his leg.

Discouraged but still not ready to give up, Nico called Annabeth in an act of desperation. He didn't have any problem with Annabeth, in fact he liked her. It was just hard to admit sometimes that she knew Percy just as well as Nico did.

And now Annabeth was telling him that without a doubt, Percy was not joking or pretending.

He really didn't remember anything about them; not even the ring.

Nico did not cry often, he told himself that after he brought Percy back from the brink of death that he would only cry happy tears from that point on. But this was too much; he didn't want to lose the love of his life.

He covered his eyes with his hand and turned away from Annabeth.

"Hey," She placed her hand on his arm. "I know this seems really hopeless right now, but there has to be something. It doesn't make sense; people don't just lose their memories randomly."

Nico wiped away his tears and nodded, he didn't trust himself to speak.

She rubbed his arm, trying to comfort him. "He didn't just loose his memory; it's very specific in that he can't remember his relationship with you. That's not right, I know people can suppress memories, but he has all of his memories from what the other's told me. He just doesn't remember all the cuddling you guys were doing during it all."

"I know," Nico hated how unsure he sounded.

"There has to be a way to fix this," she was determined now. "Just think of all the monsters and even people who would want to get some form of revenge on Percy. We did a lot of things that would piss anyone off back then."

She let go of Nico and pulled out a small notepad from her pocket. "Tell me everything that he was doing that seemed suspicious before it happened."

"He ahh…" Nico gestured for her to follow him over to the couch so they could sit. Once they were situated on opposite sides of the couch and comfortable he continued. "He kept having dreams, he couldn't remember what they were about or if they were good or bad but he was nervous."

"Okay, that gives me something to work with." She was writing furiously. "Percy was always having prophetic dreams."

"Yeah," Nico started picking at the leather armrest. "He was uneasy; he said it felt like the calm before the storm. He thought something bad was going to happen but he couldn't figure it out, but other than that there's nothing I can think of. Other than his birthday and me…giving him the ring, nothing else happened."

Annabeth nodded and kept writing. "Was there ever a time he wandered off without you?"

"Well yeah," Nico sighed loudly. "He sometimes can't sleep and he goes out to the ocean to clear his head. I stopped following him a long time ago, there's nothing that could bother him there."

"Maybe not when he's in the water, but maybe on his way there or back?" Annabeth had the end of the pen in her mouth, absentmindedly biting it.

"I doubt it; no one goes out at night thanks to the Harpies. But whatever happened must have happened when he left that morning, he was fine until that point."

She wrote something else down and then stopped to give Nico a hopeful look. "Don't worry, Nico, we'll figure this out."

Nico looked away from her, afraid that the fear would show on his face. "I know. Memory loss is nothing compared to saving the world…twice."

"Or being locked in a jar and almost starved to death," she added.

"Or…"

"Tartarus," they both said at the same time.

They shared a smile and Annabeth went back to writing.

 _"Nothing could be as bad as Tartarus,"_ Nico thought _. "But that won't stop my life from becoming a living hell."_

 

* * *

 

 

Percy's day wasn't going too badly.

Lunch came around quickly after a full morning of training with the younger kids. By then the sun was damn near roasting him and he was so hungry he was pretty sure he was starting to hallucinate.

After everyone was fed and the chores were done it was back to training another group of kids. Unfortunately Clarisse was still hanging around even though Percy was sure she had better things to do in her life back in New Rome. So a good portion of the afternoon was spent listening to her call him 'dolphin humper' and 'coral brain' in front of the kids who were trying not to laugh.

This naturally ended with them sparing and Clarisse gladly knocked his ass to the ground over and over again. The whole time she was beating him within an inch of his life she kept asking him questions. A lot of them were about Nico, who was a very popular subject in Percy's life recently.

When Percy didn't give her the answers she wanted she started hitting him harder, saying something about hitting him on the head hard enough to make him remember his brain.

So besides a mild concussion his day was pretty good so far…

"Percy, can I have a word with you?" Chiron called from the edge of the battle pit.

_"Oh gods, what did I do now?"_

Percy jogged over and tried not to let Chiron's slightly upset look bother him. "What can I help you with?"

Chiron gestured for him to follow. "Walk with me."

So Percy wiped the dirt off his face and followed after him.

"I haven't seen you and Nico around each other, is something wrong?" Chiron asked.

Percy tried not to let the anger in his chest bubble up too much. "Nope, nothing is wrong between me and Nico, but people seem to think there is."

Chiron looked a bit startled at his harsh words and Percy immediately felt guilty.

"I'm sorry for prying, it was not my intention." Chiron bowed his head in apology before continuing. "I was just making sure before I asked for you to join a quest that has been given to two of our younger campers."

"A quest? I haven't been out on a quest in forever."

"I know," Chiron sounded apologetic. "I would never have asked you but one of the campers is new at all this and I figured it is safer than to be sorry. Also one of the boys requested you come along because he would feel safer with you there so—"

Percy laughed and waved his arms to cut Chiron off. "It's okay, I get it I'll go pack. I could use some time away from this place anyway."

"Thank you," Chiron smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "I will ask Nico to continue the training schedule in your absence."

"Cool, whatever you feel is best; I'm not sure how he'd be with kids though." Percy gave Chiron a wave before heading toward his cabin. His mind was already racing; his brain was in quest mode now.

He was so caught up in his thoughts he almost didn't see Jason until he smashed into him.

"Bro, can you not?" Percy shoved him but Jason was tall and muscular and built like a mountain.

In other words, Jason barely swayed in place.

"You look awfully happy," Jason crossed his arms over his chest. "What's got you all excited?"

Percy narrowed his eyes at him. "What are you like the killjoy police or something? Why do you care?"

Jason had him pinned in a head lock before his could grab Riptide.

"Listen you little shit."

"I'm not fucking little, you're just freakishly huge!" Percy kicked at Jason's legs but he might as well be poking them.

"I'm only asking because we're bros, and bros often care about their bro's well-being." Jason dug his knuckles into Percy's head.

Percy kicked him again just for fun. "The way you say 'bros' sounds more like we're 'foes'."

Jason would have said something else but he started laughing instead. Percy was just too much of a dork sometimes.

He let the smaller man go and was happy when Percy joined in on the laughter.

"Aw man," Percy wiped away the tears from his eyes. "Did you hear that? I'm a fucking genius."

"You mean a dork," Jason held out his fist and Percy bumped their fists together.

"You're just jealous that I can say such witty things, I remember I used to want to be a rapper when I grew up."

Jason chuckled and shook his head at the thought. "You also told me that one time we were drunk that you wanted to be a mermaid."

Percy slapped a hand over Jason's mouth and looked around to make sure no one was in hearing range. "Fuck off, Grace, I did not."

When Jason continued to smile at him Percy snarled. "If you ever tell anyone, especially Clarisse…I will kill you…painfully…probably. I'm actually not sure if Riptide can cut through these meat trunks of yours." Percy punched Jason on the arm.

Jason removed the hand from his mouth. "You know, even though you're tiny, you can still build muscle if you try."

He waited for Percy to punch him again but the son of Poseidon just shook his head and continued to his cabin.

"Whatever, Grace, I have more important things to do today, we'll finish this when I get back if you're still around." Percy saluted him with a middle finger and started running.

Jason returned the gesture and waited for Percy to disappear out of sight before quickly going to Nico's cabin.

This was not good.

He didn't bother knocking on the Hades cabin door, Nico would most likely sense him coming anyway.

Annabeth and Nico were sitting at the table, they looked to be brainstorming about something, completely unaware that the subject they were studying was about to leave.

Nico only had to see the look in his eyes to know that something was wrong.

"Jay, are you okay?" Nico stood up like a wary cat; he looked ready to run or pounce.

"Percy is leaving the camp," Jason said quickly. "He's going on a quest."

He wasn't at all surprised when Nico gathered shadows around himself and vanished.

 

* * *

 

 

Nico reappeared in Percy's cabin, startling the hell out of its single inhabitant.

Percy whirled around with Riptide drawn; the blade was already pointed at Nico's throat. When Percy saw who it was his eyes widened and he relaxed, putting the sword away and coughing awkwardly.

"Sorry, I'm really not use to you sneaking up on me like that." He put Riptide back in his pocket and sat down on his bed, trying to understand why Nico Di Angelo was suddenly in his cabin.

 _"You used to be use to me sneaking up on you,"_ Nico didn't voice his thoughts, it would do no good.

"Why are you ah…here?" Percy tried again. He really didn't want to be stalled anymore; he was itching to get out of the camp for a while.

Nico wasn't helping things; he wasn't sure why but every time he thought about Nico his head got a little fuzzy. He wasn't even sure how close they were. Maybe they were really good friends and Percy was just…forgetting…?

"You can't go on the quest," Nico said.

The tone of his voice left no room for argument.

Percy couldn't help but be reminded of Hades in that moment.

"Why can't I go on my quest?" Percy didn't get angry yet, he just wanted to know.

"It's too dangerous," was the short reply.

Percy smiled at him. "Look, I know a lot of crazy stuff when down when we were piecing your soul back together, but you don't have to worry, it's a small quest and I can take care of myself.

"A small quest that has come at a very convenient time," Nico shot back.

Percy stood up and finished stuffing the last of his clothes in his back pack; he was done. "Whatever, Di Angelo…I'm leaving now, I'll be back in a few days."

He shouldered the bag and tried to leave but Nico cut off his escape.

"Don't go."

Nico wasn't touching him, but there was something inside Percy that for a brief second, wanted him to.

"You guys are all acting so weird." Percy clapped Nico on the shoulder, not sure about how to comfort him. "I said I'll be back in a few days, by then hopefully you'll all stop babying me for whatever reason."

Nico didn't stop him this time when he made for the door again, but Percy stopped before he closed the door behind him. "Oh right, I'm sorry for freaking out at you the other day. I know I overreacted but I wasn't expecting you to be in my cabin."

Percy waved goodbye to Nico and closed the door.

He had to clutch at his chest when the same wave of panic took hold of him again.

_"What the hell is wrong with me?"_

He tried to calm down, but every time he caught his breath he would think of the sad look Nico gave him as he walked out the door.

_"I need…some time to think…"_

* * *

 

Nico's heart was racing painfully as the room went dark.

There was nothing there; Percy felt nothing for him anymore.

The wood creaked under his feet as he walked to the bedside table. Cold fingers picked up a black ring of metal that was lying there.

Nico clasped the ring in his hand and held on so tightly he feared he might break it.

_"Perseus…"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bro... Poor Chiron, I don't think he knows what's happening.
> 
> If there's any spelling or grammar errors just point them out, I'm really horrible at editing and I'm hungry so I only glanced over it.
> 
> Until next time.


	15. Being alone is never easy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They say there's no such thing as writer's block, that it's all really stress or depression; I couldn't agree more.  
> I'm sorry it took so long to get this out, but I was feeling good today!  
> Enjoy

Percy wiped the spray of sea mist that splashed onto his face. In reality he didn’t have to let himself get wet if he didn’t want to, but for now he would enjoy it. There was just something comforting about being so close to the water, especially sea water.

He stepped away from the bow of the boat and headed toward the bridge where one of his other companions was steering the small vessel.

Percy didn’t want to take the boat as their main mode of transportation, but Chiron insisted that since he was a son of Poseidon and it would make the quest much easier to navigate.

It wasn’t a big boat; it was just about the size of a family cruiser. It had a nice living space under the deck that had two tiny bedrooms and a bathroom and kitchenette. They didn’t need much really, with Percy powering the boat using the currents of the ocean; the journey wouldn’t take more than a week.

And seven days away from camp was just what he needed.

The quest itself was pretty straight forward; sail to Argos, retrieve the Brazen Shield, return home. It was simple and easy, just like he liked it.

And even though they were heading into prime monster territory, Percy actually felt good about this trip. He didn’t feel like he was in danger at all, though that could have been a bad thing as well.

But he wanted to be more optimistic.

It was Nico’s job to be pessimistic about everything.

_“Woah, where did that thought come from?”_

He didn’t linger on the tight feeling in his chest for too long, the attacks were starting to get fewer and far between. It was like the further away from camp he was, the better he felt.

There was only one person in the bridge when he went inside. Azarias Sky looked like he was having a blast as he moved the boat just like Percy taught him.

The eighteen year old was one of the few sons of Aphrodite; he travelled from Brazil to the camp a year before. If you weren’t looking closely you might mistake Leo and him for the same person. Azarias had perfect caramel colored skin and his hair was a mess of black curls. He was almost built like Jason with prominent muscles, made more obvious since he walked around with no shirt on ever.

Even though Percy warned him he was going to get a few not so pretty scars if he didn’t put some armor on.

But his best features in Percy’s opinion were his eyes; they were a striking blue color that stood out against all his dark coloring.

“Is everything going good, captain?” Percy asked the younger man with a smirk.

Azarias spun and returned Percy’s smirk with a brilliant smile that almost made his heart skip.

_“Aphrodite’s kids are intense.”_

“Everything is going well up here, though our young friend had to go below deck for a while, he was looking a bit green.” Azarias turned his attention back to the front of the boat, like he was scared something was going to randomly appear out of the water and sink them.

He was a strange one for an Aphrodite kid. He did have the magnetic personality and the good looks, but he wasn’t one to stand around and play with his hair all day. Percy had never seen anyone fight with a Katana like Azarias did; it was a strange weapon for a Greek Demi-God to wield, but he was amazing at it.

“I guess I’ll go check on him,” Percy said with a sigh. “I don’t need a dehydrated Demi-god to deal with, I’m not sure why Chiron chose him, and he’s only been at camp for a little while.”

Azarias half turned his head so he could roll his eyes for Percy’s benefit. “Do you see now why I asked for you to come on this quest?”

“I thought you wanted me to come because the shield we’re looking for belonged to the Ancient Perseus and you found irony in me being here?”

Azarias snorted with a laugh. “Yes, I wanted you because of all that and your good looks. It was a packaged deal I just couldn’t resist.”

If the kid wasn’t dramatically younger than him, Percy would have blushed.

But they both knew it was just for fun.

Percy laughed anyway and leaned against a nearby wall. “I never did get the full scoop of why we’re going on such a dramatic mission when we have no oracle. I was so rushed to get out of camp I didn’t even ask.”

“Oh you hero types and your tenancy to rush headlong into danger, it’s so attractive.” Azarias looked away again to wink at Percy before returning to his task. “I know there’s no oracle but Chiron insisted we take this one into our own hands. I guess there was an archeological discovery the other day that had everyone in a tizzy. Something about an old temple was found where they believed the Perseus of legend may have stored his fabled items.”

“And Chiron just assumes that the Brazen Shield is there?”

“Well even if it’s not he wants us to check it out just in case,” Azarias replied. “I was given the option of asking your Nico for a quick shadow travel over to the place and make it a day trip, but that was too boring. Unlike my siblings, I actually like the thought of adventure and glory; it sounds exciting.”

Percy ignored the part where Nico was referred to as ‘his’. “Oh it’s all fun and games until your friends die or you’re chased by monsters for three days straight. No sleep, no food and no showers. Pain and end of the world prophecies, more pain…”

Azarias’s eyes were wide but he didn’t look scared at all. “It is fun, isn’t it?”

“Fuck yeah,” Percy laughed and Azarias was quick to join in. “Since the last time with Gaia, things have settled down a lot. Even in the last few years the number of monsters is diminishing.”

“I can’t tell if you sound sad or not,” Azarias grinned.

“I’m less sad, more confused.” Percy reached in his pocket and ran his fingers along Riptide. “I just don’t know what comes after the monsters all die out. Is there even a reason to train demi-god children to fight? Will there be peace finally after all these years of struggling?”

Azarias was quiet for a moment. When Percy didn’t say anymore he turned back to the water. “I’m not sure, but even with my faith in love and happy endings, I’m just the type of person who thinks no good thing can last forever.”

Percy nodded at those words, “me too.”

They shared a moment of silence before Azarias planted another smile on his face. “That’s enough with the negative thoughts! Go bug the sick kid and think about how cool this trip is going to be and all the beautiful people we’re going to meet!”

“Okay then, lover boy.” Percy laughed and left the small room before Azarias could get back at him for the nickname.

The salty air hit him as soon as he stepped outside and his mind once again relaxed.

_“I need to stop being so down all the time; I’m even depressing the Aphrodite kid. This is serious.”_

Chuckling at the thought, Percy opened the door that led into the inside of the boat and jogged downstairs.

Tyler was indeed looking very green as he sat on the small couch with a trash can close by. The kid barely acknowledged that Percy was there.

“You okay, kid?” But he already knew the answer to that question.

Tyler narrowed his eyes in what would have been a glare if he were a bit more menacing. He opened his mouth to say something but it got stuck in his throat and he grabbed the trash can quickly before vomiting in it.

Percy waited for him to finish, he almost laughed when the snake, Oni, uncurled from his master’s neck and his tongue flicked out against Tyler’s cheek. It looked like the creature was trying to comfort him.

“Sometimes the sea really doesn’t agree with people.”

Tyler didn’t look amused by those words at all.

“Oh yeah?”

This time Percy did laugh out loud, the kid just reminded him too much of Nico when he was that age; All anger and chubby cheeks.

“It’s really not funny,” Tyler said, but he was too worn out to make himself look any angrier. “I can’t wait to be back on solid land, rocking on a boat sucks.”

“Well it sucks for some of you,” Percy flopped down on the opposite couch and let out a content sigh. He was rubbing salt in the wound at this point, but it was fun teasing the kid.

“You’re not funny,” Tyler said miserably. “I don’t know why everyone likes you, you’re mean.”

Percy gave him his best puppy dog eyes. “I’m mean? How can you say that, that hurt my feelings so much.”

At first Tyler looked confused and then scared that he actually did hurt Percy’s feelings. But as soon as the older man started to snicker he got grumpy and tried not to throw his bucket of puke at him for revenge.

“You suck,” Tyler stuck his tongue out at him.

Percy returned the childish gesture. “Yea, well at least you’re not thinking about how sick you are anymore.”

Tyler would have argued, but then he realized he really didn’t feel sick.

And then thinking about how he didn’t feel sick made him feel sick all over again.

He gave Percy one more dirty look before standing up and taking his bucket with him. “I’m going to lie down in the room. Don’t bother me.”

Percy watched him go and shook his head.

_“Grumpy kids these days.”_

He groaned and lay down along the length of the couch. It was just big enough that he could stretch out and relax.

_“I’m sure Azarias will yell if anything pops out of the water to attack…Hopefully.”_

He closed his eyes and was almost immediately pulled into a dream.

It was a glimpse of his past, the last quest he took to save Nico’s soul.

Though the memories were usually fuzzy and unclear for him, he could easily make out Nico’s smile as he turned to say something to him.

Of course the words never reached his ears, but from the smirk on Nico’s face it must have been something funny.

The scene changed and they were in the middle of the arena that Hades constructed to watch his death. This time Nico wasn’t chained up, this time it was Percy.

The sound was muted as Nico took Percy’s hand in his own and held it up to his lips to give it a chaste kiss.

“Perseus, are you ready?”

_Ready for what?_

But the words didn’t escape his lips.

Nico was walking away from him, into the shadows as they ripped him apart.

The whole time the skeletons in the stands clapped and cheered as the sound came back, making his ears pop.

Then the scene changed again. This time he was underwater, standing at the bottom of what must have been the ocean. The sand under his bare feet was white and it lit up the water around him, making it glow.

“Percy.”

As quick as he could, he turned around and was startled to see Annabeth standing at the bottom of the ocean with him.

She was dressed in ancient Greek clothes, a beautiful white chiton and she had silver ribbons tied into her hair that was swaying with the water.

“Annabeth? How are you breathing under water?”

Annabeth smiled at him, her gray eyes were so sad, it made his heart break.

“I’m so sorry, Percy, we were too late.”

“Too late for what?” Percy tried to move toward her, but it was like his feet were stuck.

“Too late for what, Annabeth?”

But the image of her was disappearing, like she had been a specter at the bottom of the sea.

“Too late for what?!”

* * *

 

Nico opened his eyes and looked up to the ceiling.

The fountain in the corner of the room bubbled happily, soothing him even though he was trying to shake off a nightmare.

He wiped a bit of the sweat off his forehead and laid an arm over his eyes. Here in Percy’s cabin he could almost pretend everything was okay. Percy still remembered him; they were lying in bed together right now. If he reached over and touched—

But Nico’s hand met empty air and he laid it down beside him again.

_“I miss you so much.”_

He never thought trying to stay strong would be so hard. He was used to being alone, he kept telling himself that.

It felt like his heart had been ripped in two, it was painful to be awake and he couldn’t sleep.

Nico laid there for another hour and tried not to wallow in his own misery. It wasn’t until he was almost asleep again that he noticed something was wrong.

The sound of the bubbling water was gone.

He sat up and had his hand on his sword before he could blink, but when nothing attacked him he was confused.

_“What in the hell?”_

And then, just like a wave, a familiar presence washed over him.

“Father?”

**“Nico, come to me, son.”**

He wasn’t sure if the voice was out loud or if it was in his head. Either way, he couldn’t ignore a summons from his father, even if they weren’t really getting along these days.

Nico got out of bed and quickly got dressed. He put on his leather jacket and strapped his sword to his belt before gathering his shadows and entering his father’s realm.

Nothing bothered him as he made his way to his father’s throne room, not that anything ever did.

Upon entering the lavish and gothic style rom, the first thing he noticed was the Persephone was nowhere in sight.

_“Great.”_

“My son,” Hades made no move to get up and greet him any further than that.

Not that Nico was expecting a hug or anything.

“Father,” Nico bowed his head out of respect and waited; Hades would eventually tell him why he was there.

But Hades wasn’t in the mood for dallying this time. “I heard what happened to Jackson.”

“Don’t pretend to be sad for my sake,” Nico spat more angrily than he intended. “You must love this, finally Perseus is out of your way and I’m free to rule with you. Is that why you called me down here, father?”

At first he thought Hades was going to yell at him, but then the god placed a hand over his face (something Nico did a lot too, not that he would admit it) and sighed. “No, Nico that is not why I called you down here.”

Hades moved his hand away from his face and looked directly into his son’s eyes, just so he would believe his next words. “I won’t admit that I was wrong. I told you many times before that Jackson is bad for you, I told you he would break your heart.”

“If you called me to gloat then—“

“BUT—“ Hades held up his hand to interrupt him. “I know that he’s the one that makes you happy. I see it every time you smile, Nico. Seeing you that happy was always enough to overrule my dislike for that brat.”

When Nico remained silent he assumed it was safe to continue.

“I want nothing else than for you to be happy, son. I know I can’t interfere directly, it would be frowned upon, but just know that I would do anything to keep you alive.”

“Alive, father? What do you know that you’re not telling me?”

Hades shook his head, “nothing that I’m allowed to tell you. Just know that the gods have their eyes on you, all three of you, that means Jason and you…Percy. No matter what happens, you will always have a place by my side, I want you to know that.”

“I don’t understand,” Nico stepped closer but stopped when Hades sat up and walked down the steps toward him.

Once he was standing in front of Nico he held out his hand. In his palm was a necklace, it was very simple, a black string was tied to a piece of blue green sea glass. The color was the same color as Percy’s eyes.

Nico gently took the gift and traced his finger over the smooth glass. “What is this?”

“On the day that Percy died for you, back in the arena,” Hades let out a long sigh before he continued. “That day Percy really did die, son, it was just the stubbornness of several gods and your own power that managed to bring him back.”

Nico held onto the glass a little tighter.

“For a brief second, I did have my hands on his soul, but I only managed to keep a tiny piece of it when it was taken away again.”

Nico could feel it now; he could almost feel Percy there with him, just by touching the glass.

Hades chuckled darkly. “Originally I was going to keep it just in case I needed to bring him a bit of pain and suffering if he mistreated you. But I guess he really did love you because I never needed to use it in the end.”

Nico met his father’s eyes, his gaze hard. “Why do you keep referring to Perseus in the past tense?”

Hades didn’t answer him; instead he took the necklace from Nico and placed it over his head. “Keep him close to your heart, if anyone can change destiny, it’s you, my son.”

“Dad, just tell me—“

“I’m so proud of you.”

And then like he was being punched in the gut, Nico felt the air leave his lungs as he was teleported back to Camp Half-Blood.

Jason’s worried face is what greeted him sometime later after sunrise.

Nico’s hands scrambled to his neck, trying to locate the necklace.

He almost cried when he felt it there, warm against his cool skin.

“Nico, are you okay?” Jason had to help his friend sit up. The son of Hades looked very upset as he held on to his sea glass pendant like it was his lifeline.

When Nico was finally able to form words he said, “I’m fine.”

But Jason had a feeling that he was not fine at all.

Nico was barely able to make it to his feet before Annabeth let herself in the cabin. She looked like she was about to say something to them but stopped when she noticed Nico’s condition.

When she gave Jason a look and all she got was a shrug in response, she was worried.

“I’m going to go…take a cold shower and try to catch my breath.” Nico stood up and waved Jason away who was trying to all but carry him to the bathroom.

Annabeth waited for Nico to disappear and close the door behind him before she spoke. “What happened?”

Jason shook his head. “I have no idea. I got here and he was lying on the bed half off of it with his clothes on. I just got him sitting up before you got here.”

She wasn’t sure what to make of that; she just hoped Nico would tell them if something bad happened.

She and Jason made camp on Percy’s comfy couch while they continued to read over theories and tried to come up with a solution. No one was making any headway though, and it didn’t help that everyone was stressed because Percy was gone.

Nico reemerged after a short wearing only pants and Jason fussed until he got dressed properly. Annabeth didn’t even bat an eye though; she was too immersed in her laptop.

All three of them continued to read and strategize for the rest of the morning. Nico never did say what was bothering him, even though the other two could sense there was something colossally wrong.

As lunch rolled around Jason suggested they get something to eat before they made themselves sick.

“I’m fine, you two go ahead.” Nico waved them off and lay back on the couch with a groan.

Annabeth was going to tell him not to be so foolish but she figured pushing him wouldn’t help. “Okay, but remember, you have to kids to train after lunch.”

Nico waved them off and rested his arm over his eyes to block out the light.

As soon as the door closed and they were gone, Nico sat up and made his way over to the fountain. He stared down at the water, wondering if he said a prayer to Poseidon, would the god answer?

After a brief internal debate he voted against it. The gods had their rules, and he really wasn’t in the mood to ask for favors today.

Suddenly, like something was placed over his eyes, his world went dark.

He was vaguely aware of hitting the ground and smacking his head off the side of the fountain, but he didn’t feel any pain.

This was not his father, this was something evil, and it made his insides turn in fear.

Then a single voice, so vast and powerful echoed through him and he felt his soul cry out in alarm.

**“Do you think you can get to him in time to save him? Let’s make it a game, shall we?”**

It felt like only seconds had passed, but he must have been on the floor for some time.

When his eyes opened he had a hard time focusing, but the feeling of something cool on his head was making him feel better.

With a start he realized that there was a small stream of water flowing from the fountain onto his head, healing whatever wound was there.

_“Thank you, Poseidon.”_

He just managed to get to his feet once again when the door to the cabin flew open.

Annabeth and Jason were there, wide eyed and gray, like they had seen a ghost.

From the looks on their faces, they heard the same voice he did.

He didn’t even pause as he went to the bed to pick up his sword.

“Get your shit, let’s go.”


	16. Meet me on the Battlefield

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter was written to Battlefield by Svrcina, check it out

“Aw man, this place is beautiful.” Percy stretched and let out a happy sigh as they got off the boat. There was just something about Greece; it was always so beautiful with its clear blue water and white stone buildings.

They made port at a busy dock; it must be tourist season because people were everywhere. There were no signs of monsters yet but he wouldn’t hold his breath.

Azarias looked right at home as he walked along the wooden dock looking at various stands with goods to sell.

It had taken Percy a long time to convince the Brazilian to put on a shirt but he finally managed it. Now the kid was dressed in a white t-shirt and shorts that were not as tight as the ones he had on before. Still no armor though, but he did bring his sword with him without being asked.

Percy himself was wearing his usual jeans with his camp t-shit and some light armor. People without the sight wouldn’t be able to see his armor anyway so he was happy to be safe rather than sorry.

Tyler however seemed to not care about boiling to death since he was wearing a hoodie.

Percy got overheated just looking at him.

The two seconds Percy took his eyes off Azarias he had already found two cute local girls to flirt with.

“Sky! Come on, you can flirt later!”

Azarias winked at the girls and blew them a kiss before leaving to join Percy and Tyler who were walking away at this point.

“Our mission isn’t life or death so I thought I’d try enjoying myself.” Azarias said as he slung an arm over Percy’s shoulders.

“You can get distracted after we get this shield, until then keep up.” Percy had to push the teen away when his ear got pinched.

“Amateurs,” Tyler muttered under his breath.

They struggled to leave the docks in one piece. Twice Percy had to physically drag Azarias away from another pretty girl he found, only to have to do the same thing when they passed a cute guy.

Tyler marched ahead without them, ignoring all the curses Percy was grumbling.

In town wasn’t much better, there were tour groups everywhere and kids running underfoot.

Percy almost lost Tyler at one point, he didn’t want to have to hold the kid’s hand but it was almost getting to that point.

“This place is insane,” Azarias didn’t seem bothered though, he was grinning like a fool. “Where are we anyway?”

“Nafplio,” Percy almost collided with a man in a bicycle. “It’s like…the busiest place in Argos I think. I’m starting to believe it at this point.”

They fought through another group of tourists and finally found a clearing with less people around. Azarias was shoving pieces of paper in his pockets, all of them probably numbers from various people that he talked to.

“We just need to find a car so we can drive to the museum, Chiron said the shield was probably being held there for now.” Percy had to grab Azarias by the curls before he ran after the cute boy that just passed. He was surprised when Tyler grabbed onto his shirt as well, he was probably getting nervous with all the people looming over him.

They eventually found a car rental place and Percy quickly paid for it and got them in the car. The museum was only an 18 minute drive away (or so google said) but the traffic was crazy and people kept walking into the middle of the road.

Luckily, Percy was a very patient person when it came to driving, unlike Nico who would just curse and throw his hands in the air.

_“There we go again, thinking of Nico.”_

It was becoming less unusual to do so at this point, even so it never got easier. There had been a couple of dreams where he had woken up more than a bit red in the face.

Apparently his subconscious had no problem with Nico at all…

In total it took them thirty minutes to get to the museum. By that point, Azarias was taking a cat nap in the sun and Tyler was starting to show signs of dehydration.

Percy himself was starting to get a bit hot; he couldn’t help it if he wasn’t use to the heat.

“You’re like a fish out of water,” Azarias said to Percy with a cackle as he got out of the car. “Neither of you have been to Brazil I’m guessing? It’s hot there too.”

Percy flipped him off and then used his t-shirt to wipe the sweat off of his face.

“I like cooler temperatures, like cave cool if I can get it.” Tyler said as he finally pulled off his sweater and threw it in the car. Oni was still curled around his neck, but even the snake looked sick of the heat.

“So I’m in the company of a bat and a fish,” Azarias had to dodge a smack from Percy. “Calm down, fish boy, no need to get violent.”

Percy’s eye started to get a twitch so he decided not to say anything.

When he didn’t get the reaction he wanted out of Percy he turned his attention to Tyler. “What do you think, Batman?”

Tyler didn’t even pause. “I think I’m going to kill you if you don’t leave me alone.”

Percy gave them both a look and Azarias just snickered. “Did anyone ever tell you how weird you are, kid?”

“Leave Tyler alone before he sends his snake after you,” Percy said as he started toward the museum before they got into an argument.

But the thought of Azarias running away from an angry Oni did cheer him up a bit.

Thankfully the museum was air conditioned when they went inside. Both Percy and Tyler let out a breath of relief, but Azarias seem a bit put off.

“This place is huge, where are we going to find this shield?” Tyler said as he left the other two look at one of the displays.

“Maybe there’s a sign around here that says something about it.” Percy found a map of the building and started looking for any place that had new displays added recently. “Chiron said the archeologists probably don’t know exactly what the shield was that they found, so it might be mislabeled.”

“Oh you two spoiled sports,” Azarias wrapped an arm around Percy and dragged him away from the map. “Let’s do it the good old fashion and fun way and explore this place. We’ll go through the whole building and check it out, that way we won’t miss it.”

Tyler sighed loudly but he followed after the two older men anyway.

Azarias let go of Percy once he knew he wouldn’t disagree. “I think we should buy the kid an ice cream or something after this, he really needs to lighten up.”

Percy chuckled; Azarias was going to get beat up by a person less than half his size if he kept it up. “Maybe we’ll get one on our way out.”

They took their time exploring the museum thanks to Azarias who would force them to stop and look at every glass case they passed. The building held so many amazing items that Percy didn’t even find himself caring that they were taking so long.

“I think I would love to live in an old villa,” Percy said as they looked at an ancient pottery display. “It would have to be some place in the mountains overlooking a city.”

“That’s going back to your roots,” Azarias agreed. “Though I can see why it would be appealing, I think I would enjoy it more if I was surrounded by beautiful people that continuously fed me grapes.”

“Gross,” Tyler rolled his eyes and walked over to the next display.

Percy laughed lightly. “You sound too much like your mother sometimes.”

“You think so?” Azarias’s face lit up. “That’s the biggest compliment anyone’s ever given me.”

“You’re a dork,” Percy teased and he went to join Tyler at the next display.

It wasn’t until an hour later that they found the exhibit with the Brazen Shield proudly behind glass for observation.

It wasn’t labeled the Brazen shield, but as soon as Percy saw it he knew. The shield was a beautiful silver color; the caretakers must have polished it to make it stand out more. It was so shiny he would have been able to see his reflection in it, if it wasn’t for the large black discoloration in the middle.

“The shield must have turned that way after medusa’s reflection touched it, so cool.” Percy placed his hand on the glass; the temptation to touch the shield was almost unbearable.

“So we’re here, we’ve found it, now what?” Azarias knocked on the glass. “I mean…I could break the glass and we could grab it and run.”

“Yeah, because that sounds like a great plan,” Tyler grumbled. “Let’s just hide in the building somewhere until it closes, there will be less people around.”

“That sounds good to me,” Percy agreed.” I can fry their alarm system if I short their electricity with my water abilities, and while they’re all distracted we can take the shield and get the hell out.”

It was only about two in the afternoon and the museum closed at five that day so they decided to get something to eat in the meantime.

Azarias led them to what looked to be the most expensive place in the town but the food was amazing. Percy used the card Nico gave him on their quest to pay for it, he was sure Hades could handle the bill.

“Must be nice having a sugar daddy,” Azarias chuckled and Percy tried not to turn too red.

“Nico just let me keep the damn thing and I figure Hades owes me anyway.” Percy said with confidence. Let’s go get ice cream.”

Azarias was shaking his head as they left the restaurant. “The way you talk about the gods astounds me sometimes, I can’t believe you’re so cool about it.”

“I bet one of them will eventually smite him one of these days.” Tyler gave Oni a little pat on the head. “A person can only be so lucky for so long.”

“The gods won’t kill me,” Percy flashed them both a cocky grin. “They need me too much.”

The other two didn’t look too convinced but they didn’t bother saying anything.

By the time they got some ice cream to help them cool down it was getting close to five so they returned to the museum. No one batted an eye when they paid to get in for the second time that day, probably because tourists did it all the time.

They went to the bathroom when there was no one looking and tried to find a place to hide. Luckily the ceiling was cheap and all it took was for one of them to push it open and there was a small but usable area to hide.

They couldn’t move around much without the risk of falling, but it wasn’t too bad.

Percy told them stories of his adventures while they waited for the place to close down. Azarias seemed really into it but Tyler rolled his eyes at most of the stories.

After five the security guard came in to do a check of the bathroom to make sure no one was hiding inside and then left.

The three boys finally left their hiding place and stretched.

“Now what?” Azarias whispered.

“I’ll make a distraction,” Percy grinned.

He reached for his powers and felt the water pipes everywhere. All at once he got them to explode, some of them ripping through electrical wiring. Percy didn’t stop until the whole place lost power and he could feel all the people in the building running to different locations.

“We probably don’t have a lot of time so let’s go.” Percy led them out the door and they quickly made their way toward the shield display.

They had picked the bathroom closest to it so it didn’t take them long to get to their destination. Once they were there, Azarias drew his sword and used it to but open the glass.

Percy waited for someone to come running or an alarm to go off, but nothing happened.

“Okay, let’s grab it and go.” He took the shield and they stealthily made their way to the entrance.

They only had to dodge one security guard who was running like his life depended on it toward the back of the museum. Nothing else got in their way until they made it to the lobby.

The moment they stepped foot in the huge lobby room, Percy felt his stomach twist in fear.

He recognized this feeling, like the whole world was slowing down and he was moving in quick sand.

“What’s happening…?” Azarias and Tyler were struggling too.

Percy wanted to tell them to be careful, but he only had time to raise the shield in front of him before something smashed into it and he went flying backward.

Without his mark of Achilles to protect him he hit the wall on the other side of the room hard and almost blacked out. He could hear Azarias yelling for Tyler to get back, the two of them moving at normal speed again.

Once the dots in his vision cleared up Percy tried to stand and was surprised to see a monster he never saw before. It looked like a cross between a scorpion and a spider; its legs were long and pointed, its tail was longer, and its claws were smaller but they moved faster.

And as Azarias dodged out of the way he learned very quickly that it could breathe fire.

No one else came running so Percy could only assume that time around them had stopped or the humans in the area were just too distracted.

Whatever the case he just hoped it stayed that way.

Once Percy was on his feet he ran over to help, uncapping Riptide and hacking at one of the legs as soon as he came within reach.

He moved just in time when the beast turned to shoot fire at him, but it still singed the clothes on his back.

Tyler was nowhere to be seen as he and Azarias tag teamed the creature. Both of them chipped away at the scorpion’s armor with their swords but they weren’t doing enough damage to it to make a difference.

“Aim for the eyes, they might be a weak spot!” Percy called to the son of Aphrodite. “I’ll keep the tail occupied!”

He almost stopped to watch as Azarias nimbly jumped onto the monster’s back and started slashing at its eyes with a speed he didn’t think possible. It was mesmerizing to watch, an effect that a lot of Aphrodite’s kids gave off.

But then he saw the tail moving in to strike his friend and Percy jumped in to stop it.

As the tail snapped forward, Percy flung himself onto the monsters back using one of its gross legs for footing. He swung his sword as hard as he could but Riptide only bit into the side of it instead of taking the whole thing off.

“Shit.” Percy cursed as he tried to pull his blade loose, only stopping to kick away a claw that was aiming for his legs.

With a cry of frustration he let go of Riptide and turned to grab onto Azarias, tackling him right off the monster’s back as the stinger went for both of them.

They had only a few seconds to move before fire shot out at the place they had landed.

Riptide was still stuck to the scorpion’s tail and Percy had no idea when it would turn back up in his pocket.

The creature cried out and lunged for him.

Only his quick footing saved him as he dodged and backed away. The monster screamed again and perused him, backing him against the wall. He tried to get away before he was cornered, but the monster was quicker than he was.

Azarias was on its back again, this time trying to stab his sword into the monster’s brain. He made no progress as the scorpion flailed and started to attack him. With Percy on the ground not watching his back he didn’t see one claw coming for him.

“Azarias!” Percy reached for Riptide the moment he saw it disappear from the tail and uncapped it.

Azarias was gripped by the arm and flung to the ground. Even with the wind knocked out of him Azarias swung his sword at the same time Percy did, slicing the arm clean off.

The monster spat fire at them again and Percy dodged; his heart hammering as Azarias screamed.

He couldn’t see if the kid was alright, not with the creature advancing toward him again. Percy fought him back this time, swinging his sword as hard as he could.

The monster screamed again and lurched backward, one of its back legs was severed off. Percy did the same to one of the front legs and the scorpion started to move slower, making it an easier target.

Percy moved to the left side, going after the other claw while dodging the stinger. He almost ran right into Azarias who was also going after the claw.

“Oh gods, are you okay?!” It was hard to look at; the left side of Azarias’s face was badly burned along with his shoulder and arm.

Azarias didn’t seem concerned though, he just shouted; “CLAW!” and they both swung their swords again, taking the other claw.

Now with two legs missing and only its stinger to defend itself, the scorpion didn’t have many options left. It came at them with everything it had left, spitting fire and its stinger almost piercing Percy’s heart and taking Azarias’s head off.

They went in opposite directions; with the monster weakened its armor was no longer holding up. They hacked off as many legs as they could. Azarias moved to the back and finally took the tail off just as Percy rolled under and stabbed his sword into its belly.

With one final shriek the scorpion finally dissolved into dust.

Both of them fell to the ground and tried to catch their breath.

“Holy…fuck…” Percy’s hands were shaking as he put Riptide back in his pocket. He looked around and spotted the Brazen Shield lying on the stone floor nearby where he dropped it.

_“Well at least we didn’t lose it.”_

He looked at Azarias who was obviously starting to feel the pain. His left eye was already swollen shut and he was trembling.

Percy had to fight to get up but when he finally managed it he walked over as quickly as he could so he could look at the wounds better.

They were bad; really bad.

“We need to get out to the car, our ambrosia is out there, and it will help.”

Azarias said nothing; he was in shock now that the pain was clouding his mind.

Percy pulled him up, being very careful with his arm and they started toward the exit.

Percy figured Tyler was already out there, most likely crying in the back seat. He didn’t blame him, whatever that creature was it was tough; Tyler would have turned out worse than Azarias if he tried to fight it.

They picked up the shield on their way out, by then Azarias was shaking so hard Percy had to basically drag him.

The doors to the museum opened and Tyler walked in.

Percy was glad to see the kid was okay.

“Hey, Ty, can you run out and get the ambrosia? Azarias is pretty messed up.”

Tyler didn’t answer him; in fact he didn’t even seem to hear Percy. He starred behind them, toward where the dust from the scorpion was gathered.

“Ty?” Percy tried to get the kid’s attention again.

“That really is a shame; I was hoping the great Scorpius of legend could do more damage than that.”

It was Azarias that stopped Percy from moving forward. “What did he just say…?”

“I was hoping that he would at least kill the noisy one, now I’m going to have to do it myself.” Tyler smiled, but it wasn’t friendly.

Percy took a step back. He had no idea what to do, he couldn’t run with Azarias as injured as he was, and he didn’t even know what Tyler was talking about.

As if to answer one of his questions, a fog rose around them, becoming so dense that his lost sight of Tyler. The humidity climbed and Percy could feel the pressure of a storm coming; an unnatural storm.

Both he and Azarias jumped as the loudest crack of thunder shook the walls of the museum, the vibration almost knocked Percy over.

The storm continued to surround Tyler, but he wasn’t Tyler anymore; he was a man. He still looked like Tyler, but there was nothing cute about this man.

“Hiding in that child’s body for so long was dreadful, but I knew if I could get you to let your guard down I would win. Isn’t your weakness loyalty to your friends?” The storm still billowed around the man until it shifted and took the form of a snake. Oni was much bigger now as he unraveled at Tyler’s feet, hissing and fixing his red eyes on the other men.

“Run,” Azarias hissed.

“Where?” Percy looked around wildly; there were no other exits, not in this room.

He turned and ran deeper into the museum, hoping that he would find another exit out.

Something wrapped around Percy’s foot and he and Azarias hit the floor. He tried to get up but Oni slithered over top of him and trapped him.

The snake was so long it easily wrapped its upper body around Azarias who was struggling to get away. It picked the younger man up like he weighed nothing, and when Percy heard a snap he knew Oni was squeezing the Brazilian to death.

“No!” Percy cried and drew Riptide with his free hand, stabbing into the body of the snake.

It thrashed Azarias around before throwing him, hissing and spitting in pain.

Percy watched in horror as Azarias hit a stone column and crumpled to the ground, silent.

Oni wasn’t done though, with or without Tyler’s permission Percy was picked up and thrown into another nearby pillar. His head cracked off the stone and he landed on the floor on his back, the blood quickly began pooling around his head.

His vision screwed up, it was almost like he was having an out of body experience. Tyler’s voice, no longer childish but deeper and more menacing washed over him.

“If there’s one thing I learned from my mother, it’s that I knew I’d have to take out Percy Jackson in order to win any war between me and the Olympians.”

There was a cold pressure against his cheek, like a cold hand was touching him.

“One down, but there’s still so many heroes out there that I need to take care of.”

Percy’s eyes closed, he wasn’t sure if it was him who closed them or Tyler.

“Tyler, what a silly name.”

The voice was starting to fade now.

“No, I am Typhon, son of Gaia.”

Percy couldn’t hold on any longer.

“And you, Percy Jackson are going to become a great puppet to play with.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ty-ler  
> Ph-illips  
> On-i
> 
> Typhon ; )


	17. Face your Fears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long. I'm not in a good living situation that makes it comfortable to write and on top of that I'm legit just getting over an illness that knocked me on my ass for a month. So yes, I apologize for how shitty this chapter is and how late it is.

After telling Chiron about everything that had happened (in which he apologized profusely for sending Percy away at such a bad time) the trio wasted no time grabbing everything they thought they would need before meeting back up at Percy's cabin.

"Chiron said he's heading toward Argos, Nafplio to be more exact," Nico spoke quickly while he gathered nearby shadows toward him. "I'll travel us there but it will take him at least three days to get there, that will give us time to form a plan and scope the place out."

Annabeth tied her golden hair back and flipped it over her shoulder. "We already know where he's going; I know the shield is in the museum there. The problem will be Percy; he'll probably think we're stalking him or being too worried. We can just tell him there a spike in monster activity and Chiron sent us just to make sure everyone is safe."

Jason snorted loudly and crossed his arms over his chest. "Or we could just knock him out and then deal with whoever is threatening us. I'm interested to see what God it is this time, I think they're starting to run out of options."

"We'll worry about the 'who' later, let's just get there so we can get situated." Nico motioned them closer and they each took one of Nico's hands.

It was a quick jump to their location. Nico made sure to land them in a quiet alleyway between two buildings. No one noticed them; it was already dark in Nafplio. The air was electric around them, whether it was the place or just their demi god blood getting ready for a fight none of them could say.

Jason pushed his glasses back up his nose, he was sweating already but it wasn't too bad. "Should we go to the museum first or do we want to find a base?"

"Museum," both Annabeth and Nico said at once.

Jason was really nervous, there was a feeling around them right now like something bad was about to happen. He supposed he should be use the life or death situation by now but he wasn't.

It was hard when he had a family back home that he loved, but he knew he had to be there, whether it was for Percy or Nico's sake he wasn't sure yet.

" _I almost wish Leo was here, he'd crack a joke to ease the tension at least."_ He looked ahead to Nico and Annabeth's backs. He doubted they knew how alike they really were, both stubborn and willing to break any rule to save Percy.

They found a hotel on the way to the museum and they stopped only long enough to book two rooms before heading out again.

"We can go find the shield first so we know exactly where Percy is going to end up. It will make it easier to find him when the time comes." Annabeth was in full plan mode. "Percy won't take the shield in broad daylight; he'll wait until the place closes down."

"We'll have lots of time to find him, we just need to time it right," Nico didn't seem relieved by any of this information; he was too focused right now.

Jason's gut twisted again, like he was about to have a panic attack. "That voice made it sound like a race though, is it actually a race or is it…"

"A trap?" Annabeth sounded almost happy at the thought. She turned around to smile at Jason, "well it's not like we haven't been there before, I'm sure we can handle this."

"Sad but true," Jason muttered. He wished that he packed some shorts because jeans were just not working in the muggy heat.

They quietly talked about their plans as they slowly approached the museum. So far nothing had attacked them but the bad feeling never left. It did feel better to get inside a building with air conditioning though.

It took Annabeth all of ten minutes to find the shield they were looking for in the back of the museum. The people there obviously had no idea what it truly was, and maybe that was for the best because it made everything easier.

They spent the next hour completely exploring the building, finding hiding spots and places that could provide cover. Nico grabbed a map so they had a layout of the place to make it easier to make a plan later on.

They stayed long enough to watch how the guards shut the museum down so they would have an idea how to sneak past them.

Jason and Annabeth made their way back to the hotel on their own after they left, Nico wanted some time alone and they didn't argue.

"Man I'm starving," Jason groaned as he lay down on his bed. "I feel like I missed a whole day but we just time jumped."

When Annabeth didn't reply, Jason sat up and wasn't surprised to see her leaning over the table going over papers. She didn't even hear him that was obvious.

Jason lay back down on the bed and closed his eyes. When Nico came back he would ask him to buy them food, his dad wasn't the god of riches for nothing.

* * *

Nico sat silent as the dead as he stared out into the ocean. From there he could see the whole port of Nafplio and out further toward sea.

It hurt him to think that Percy was sailing toward him but not to him. All the times Percy brushed him off and treated him like they were friends. It was hard, harder than Nico was willing to admit.

All he wanted to do was shadow travel right onto the boat Percy was on and take him to his father's palace. He would hate it but he would be safe, at least until they figured out how to get Percy's memories back.

The voice that spoke in his head frightened him more than anything. Somewhere out there, there was someone ready to do harm to Percy and Nico knew he had to stop it.

His hands found the piece of sea glass tied around his neck and he held onto it.

" _This is not going to be the only piece I have forever. I will get him back."_

The glass turned warm in his hand.

" _I will."_

* * *

By the end of the next two days all their nerves were shot. The pressure in the air was getting worse with each passing day and Nico wondered if Percy could feel it too; he was close.

Nico wasn't sure how he knew but he woke up knowing that that day he would see Percy again. The thought made him feel better but he didn't get too far ahead of himself, not until Percy was right in front of him and he was safe.

That day they packed their ambrosia and put their armor on. Nico looked his sword over to make sure it was in fighting condition. The blade was so black and wickedly sharp he had started referring to it as Black Ice as a sort of joke but now it was starting to stick.

The museum was only open for a short amount of time that day so that would make it easier to run into the others. Nico was the most impatient as they made their daily trip to the museum building.

Usually Jason would start talking to distract them all but today the blond was silent. Nico even stopped to make sure Jason was still with them.

They were all feeling it, something was wrong.

They didn't know just how wrong things were until the museum came into view. The hairs on the back of Nico's neck stood up like someone had stuck ice there. His body froze, his instincts telling him to run, run as far and as fast as he could.

One look at Annabeth told him she was feeling the same thing.

The people around them were moving strangely, like they were almost in a daze. Not one of them paid any attention to what was happening around them, not even when something large and scaly slithered its way through the streets.

Nico drew his sword as the creature approached. It was long, too long for Nico to tell; its body was as thick as a tree and covered by thick hard scales. It had two front legs that were helping it move forward as the body slithered along behind. And as it got closer, Nico and the others could hear a very clear hissing sound as the mutant serpent opened its massive jaws.

"What the hell is that thing?" Jason said finally as it got close enough to really see it. He couldn't tell if it was a snake or a dragon, or maybe something in between.

"It's a dragon of some sort," Annabeth stated nervously. "But it's powerful, there's something wrong here."

"Well figure it out," Nico said quickly. "I don't really feel like becoming this things lunch."

"It's guarding the museum," Annabeth said. "We need to get past it but—"

The dragon snake was done with listening; it let a terrible high pitch scream that ended in a hiss as it whipped the other half of its body around.

Nico only had a few seconds to process the fact that the scales on its tail were like long barbed hooks before he was forced to throw himself on Annabeth so she would hit the ground.

There was a great 'whoosh' over their heads that almost deafened them as the tail end missed them by a couple inches.

A loud crash of scaly tail meeting a nearby fountain kicked them all into gear and they got to their feet and moved out of range before the tail swung back around.

"Jason!" Nico had to cover his head as pieces of stone flew out from the fountain and almost hit them.

"Right here!" Jason waved them over and Nico grabbed Annabeth's hand and started running as the sound of dragging scales reached them.

They were being chased.

Jason's glasses had somehow gotten knocked off but that didn't slow him down as they ran. Behind them the dragon let out another scream as it chased them.

They didn't have many options, the dragon was fast, father than they could move and none of their weapons could penetrate its hide.

"I could swallow it up in the earth!" Nico yelled over the noise of cars and other things flying and hitting homes.

"It would take too much energy if it doesn't work!" Annabeth was swinging her head around frantically, looking for anything to help them.

"I could fly us out of here." Jason yelled. "Maybe get us to a better vantage point."

"Can you take the two of us?" Annabeth cried out as a car went flying out in front of them and they had to swerve to avoid it.

"No." Nico said before Jason could answer. "I have a plan; Jason you take Annabeth in the air, meet me over at that building they're building over there." Nico shouted and pointed to the building in the distance. "I'll lure it there."

"That's too dangerous!" Annabeth was going to talk him out of it but Nico shoved her toward Jason and Jason didn't argue with him.

They stopped and turned, all three of them meeting the dragon's eyes before Jason was lifting Annabeth up into the sky and Nico was still standing there, grinning like a mad man.

The dragon slowed to a stop and lifted its head up, regaurding the demi god curiously.

Nico let out a barking laugh and then gave the beast the finger. "Come get me you ugly fucker."

Those words worked very well Nico soon realized as he was forced to run two times faster than before. He didn't even have time to stop and tell people to move, he had no idea what would happen once the dragon got close enough but he hoped they would see something terrifying and get out of the way.

Nico was forced to jump over carts and dodge cars; it only got worse when he passed a busy street and people were scattered everywhere.

Once the dragon came flying into the busier and bigger street he could hear the screaming behind him. He dare not look behind him just in case he tripped or hit something, he needed to stay ahead.

The building under construction was approaching quickly and Nico was almost out of breath and speed. He could see Jason and Annabeth hovering above it so he knew he was almost there, just a little farther.

He was never one for parkour but he jumped the orange construction fence like he had been climbing fences all his life.

With a roar and a crash the dragon went right through the fence behind him.

Nico bolted into the building and started climbing the stairs as fast as humanly possible. He didn't think the dragon was going to be able to fit at first, but it seemed to be more snake like than they first thought as it squeezed through the narrow halls.

Nico could feel its hot breath on his back, he was slowing down and the dragon knew it, it was hissing with glee as it closed in on him.

Just when he thought he wasn't going to make it, Nico reached the top of the building and he dropped and rolled until he landed on his stomach. His hands were on the stone of the building, he was already reaching for his power as the dragon smashed half its body through the ground right next to him.

"Jason! Now!"

He wasn't sure if Jason heard him over the roaring. Then again he didn't know if the roar was from the dragon or if it was in his ears as his gut jumped and his powers gripped onto the buildings structure.

He had one last sickening view of the dragon's acid green eye as it looked at him before the whole building came down.

There was another bang from above and a huge flash as Jason summoned lightening strong enough to obliterate a forest.

With Nico's powers breaking the building apart already when the lightening touched the stone it exploded and both Nico and the dragon tumbled down as the whole thing collapsed.

Nico knew he plan worked when the dragon screamed in agony as it was buried alive, but his victory was short live when he realized that he was also about to be crushed to death.

He was already falling, but he couldn't do anything to stop his descent, it was like his arms were glued to his side.

"Nico!"

There was the pressure of warm arms around him but it felt strange, like he was almost numb to it.

The numbness wasn't from using too much of his powers; he barely used any strength to make the building break apart. But his body was still frozen like he had been turned to stone.

Nico wasn't sure if his eyes were opened or closed anymore but everything was dark. He tried to speak as he was barely aware of being set down somewhere but his mouth wouldn't move.

"What's wrong with him?" He heard Jason ask like he was five miles away. "Why are his eyes like that?"

"I was worried about this," It was Annabeth this time. "When we stopped and looked that creature in the eyes I felt it. I think it was a basilisk or at least had some basilisk blood in it."

"Are you kidding me?"

Nico was thinking the same thing.

"Well the good news is he's not dead yet or stone, so he probably just needs ambrosia and some time to get it out of his system."

Nico wanted to shout at them, he wanted them to go get Percy and leave him there. But his mouth didn't move, only when Annabeth opened it to put some ambrosia in it.

There was something else now, in the pit of his stomach. He felt so hopeless. He felt alone.

Annabeth and Jason were gone… or at least they were silent for now.

With a start, Nico realized he could see again, but he wasn't with Annabeth or Jason. In fact he wasn't even above the earth.

He was walking in Tartarus, his boots crunching rocks under his feet as he moved alongside a white ghostly river.

He had been walking there for days, thinking about how easy it would be to step into the white water and forget everything.

Forget him.

The monsters circled around him but none of them made a move, it was like they were almost curious to see what he would choose. To see if he could do it.

Something emerged from the river and stopped to stand before him, stopping his walk.

The ghost of Percy Jackson regarded him with a small sad smile. He took one look at the river to his left and then looked at the monsters following behind Nico.

" **You always seem to get yourself into such bad situations."**

Nico met Percy's eyes but couldn't hold his gaze. "I still dream of this place, it still haunts me."

" **It's not a dream; it's the basilisk's stare. It will show you your worse fear, you just have to push past it."**

"What if I don't want to leave," Nico wanted to reach out and touch him but he dare not break the illusion. "What if I stay here with you forever?"

Percy smiled at him and shook his head.

" **Is your worse fear not being able to remember me or…getting torn apart by monsters?"**

Percy looked around again in the darkness.

" **Or is it just the thought of being so painfully alone?"**

"It's doesn't matter," Nico clenched his fists. "It's all the same, they're all without you."

" **Well then, what are you still doing here?"**

Confused, Nico looked up and met Percy's eyes again. "What do you mean?"

" **I mean that if your greatest fear is being without me, then why are you lying around getting screwed up by a basilisks gaze when you could be running toward me?"**

With a gasp Nico sat up from where he way lying down. He blinked and tried to get his eyes to refocus so he could get his bearings.

The person sobbing next to him helped sober him up as he stiffly rolled over and grasped Annabeth's shoulder. She looked like she was having a night terror; her skin was freezing and covered in sweat.

Jason was right next to them not looking any better as he cried out in his own nightmares.

"Annabeth, wake up." He smacked her gently, trying to snap her out of it.

She did the exact thing he did, gasping and sitting up, her eyes looking wildly around.

"Are you alright?" He asked her even though he knew the answer.

She breathed harshly for a few seconds and then started shivering. "When we didn't fall into the state you were in…" She panted, "I thought we might have escaped the side effects. But I guess after the adrenalin rush wore off it hit us."

Nico was shaking when he got to his feet, but he collapsed next to Jason and smacked him a few times and got the same result as before.

It took than longer than he wanted for them all to gather themselves and Nico was ready to run off on his own by the time they were on their feet.

"We need to get back to the museum, Percy must still be there." Nico was prepared to go himself; both Jason and Annabeth still looked ready to fall over.

But Jason wouldn't give him the chance to argue as he grabbed them both and took off into the air. He was at his limit but he would get them to the museum, he knew he had to.

They were all silent as they flew; Annabeth was still shaking and whimpering. Whatever visions she saw they hit her hard.

Nico was the only one focused on their task, he knew he would be on his own, Jason would have nothing left by the time they got there and Annabeth wasn't in any condition to battle.

It took a lot of convincing to get his legs to hold his body upright when they landed in front of the door to the museum. The place look deserted, not one guard in sight and one of the doors were open.

"Maybe they went back to the boat?" Annabeth offered when she saw the open door.

But Nico knew that wasn't what was really happening. His hand flew to the glass that was lying on his heart as he pushed the door open.

Inside was completely different, the walls and floors were covered in scorch marks. There was glass and debris everywhere were and puddles of what looked like…

"Blood?" Jason went to kneel down to get a closer look and almost ended up falling into the puddle.

It was definitely blood; it was a lot of blood.

"What happened?" Annabeth look at Nico. "What do you think happened?"

A voice echoing off the walls made them all jump.

" _ **I won."**_

The voice erupted into laughter and the whole building started to shake violently.

"Guys, this place is coming down!" Jason grabbed both of his friends and they all ran for the exit.

Annabeth screamed as a huge slab fell from the ceiling and landed in front of them, blocking their exit.

Nico just had time to look up and see the rest of the ceiling falling toward them before everything went dark.

* * *

Green eyes opened slowly.

He was hot, so warm, like being wrapped in a nest of blankets.

At first he thought he was at home in bed with Nico, and any minute Nico would roll around and smack him in the face by accident like he always did.

Then the smell of blood and fear gripped him and he knew he was anywhere but safe at home.

He was lying on his back starting up at the ceiling; he was in some kind of cave.

There was a dripping sound nearby and he screwed up his eyes in an attempt to see better. There wasn't much light but he could just make out something swinging above him, it was hanging from the ceiling.

When the little light in the cave shone on the thing, fear hit him so hard that he thought someone punctured his lungs with a blade.

"Aza-Azarias!" Percy cried hoarsely, but it was not louder than a squeak.

He tried to sit up but his body was broken and he had no strength, the most he could do was move his head.

"Are you up then?"

Percy's head rolled to the side and he spotted adult Tyler— no Typhon who was regaurding him with a cold stare.

"I was going to kill him and leave his body for your friends, but I like this better." Typhon looked up at Azarias. "He's much better like that; quiet and a pretty decoration, just like he always wanted."

Percy prayed to the gods to let his hand move. He wasn't sure what he would do if he could get Riptide but he want to try something, anything.

"I suppose he'll eventually die and start stinking but until that time." Typhon stepped closer to Percy and knelt down beside him.

"Look at you, still trying to fight, it's very admirable." Typhon outstretched his hand and Oni who was now small again slithered down and went right onto Percy's chest.

"I have such great plans for you, it's a shame you won't really be there to see it. All your friends dying at your hands is the best revenge I could get for my mother."

"I've now taken care of three of your company, but there's so many more to come. So much pain, you don't know how excited I am."

Oni slithered up Percy's chest and started to curl around his neck.

"But for now, we have to do away with those memories of yours; I have no need of a puppet who can think for itself."

There was a sharp pain on his neck and the world immediately started to go blurry.

"Good bye, Percy."


	18. Green-eyed Monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still super sick guys, sorry. I got a new chair so it doesn't hurt as much to sit up so I wrote something quick I'll try to update when I can.

“Cazzo!”

Nico felt like every bone in his body was being crushed.

He could feel Jason and Annabeth nearby in the darkness, both of them struggling against the rubble that was so very close to crushing them.

At least they were all alive, but for how long he wasn’t sure. He was already exhausted, and without them close enough to make contact he couldn’t shadow travel.

But at the same time he couldn’t let go of the surrounding rocks or they would die.

Painfully.

The stone floor under them was shifting and groaning, and Nico wondered how long it would take for the floor to give out and make his day even better.

He did have a plan though. He could tell there was some kind of tunnel system under the surface; he just needed to get them all to it alive. He wasn’t good at digging tunnels like Hazel, he was better at collapsing them.

Very carefully he used his shadows to move whatever rubble he could into positions that would hopefully hold up when he collapsed the ground. The goal was to get them all to the tunnel and run, he didn’t need the rocks to hold long.

Jason and Annabeth would have no idea what was happening until they were falling. He felt bad but there was nothing he could do.

Sweat was pouring down his face by the time he got the bigger pieces of stone in place. If he was right, they would make a tent shape when the floor fell; hopefully.

Nico prayed to his father one last time before he collapsed the floor of the museum and sent the three of them plummeting to the tunnel.

He hit the ground hard, but not hard enough to injure or stun him. “Get up and move! Follow my voice!”

He could see fine in the dark, but Annabeth and Jason would have to rely on his voice. Thankfully they were quick on their feet, and soon they were a very safe distance away from the cracking and breaking area.

Nico didn’t let them stop until the museum was no longer above them. There was still the threat of a cave in, but Nico hopped he would be able to sense it before it happened.

“I never want to do that again,” Jason voice was shaky and he was panting still. “In fact…I never want to see another tunnel or museum, or even a rock for that matter.”

Annabeth laughed dryly. “Yeah, good luck with that.”

The strength finally left Nico’s legs and he hit the ground; he was so tired he couldn’t think, he wasn’t even sure why they were there anymore.

“Nico?”

He felt Jason’s hand on his shoulder, warm and steady.

“I’m fine…I just need a minute.”

He was vaguely aware of being force fed some more ambrosia. He didn’t want it, he knew they must be low and both Jason and Annabeth were just as tired as he was.

His body felt hot, like he was burning up. The ambrosia was working but he knew if he took any more it would kill him.

“We need to get above ground,” Annabeth said with determination in her voice. “The faster we regroup and get our bearings the sooner we can go after Percy.”

 _“That’s right, Percy.”_ Nico’s heart leapt, he still didn’t know where he was. _“He must be close; he could still be around here somewhere.”_

“I hate to be the pessimist,” Jason said carefully. “But how exactly are we going to find Percy? We don’t even know what happened up there.”

“We’ll think of something,” Annabeth was talking fast. “We just need to get out of here.”

Jason would never say it out loud since he didn’t enjoy getting punched in the face, but Annabeth sounded panicked. “Okay, Nico do you sense any way out of here?”

But Nico had gone quiet.

“Neek?”

“There’s someone else down here.”

Annabeth and Jason tensed, as if expecting to see someone emerge out of the darkness.

“No, they’re not here,” Nico stood up with help from the wall he was leaning against. “They’re further in, but they’re…”

He started walking away from them, and Jason and Annabeth didn’t hesitate to follow. There was no way they could get out without Nico, they couldn’t even see in the darkness. The only thing they had to go by was the sound of Nico moving in front of them.

Jason was not expert, but it felt like they were moving further away from the water and into the city. He had to reach out and take Annabeth’s hand to help steady her and also to keep her calm.

He knew it had something to do with Tartarus but he knew better than to bring it up.

They walked for what felt like forever, but it was probably more like twenty minutes.

Nico could see light ahead, maybe from a lit torch. He picked up the pace and it was only around the next corner that he saw what was there.

A small square room lit with two torches. It was empty, or at least he thought it was until he looked up. There was something swinging there; it almost looked like a bag or something.

Nico stepped forward to get a closer look and his boot slipped on something.

“What is that?” Jason couldn’t see as well as Nico, and he was glad he couldn’t.

Nico knew exactly what was hanging from the ceiling.

The person his sensed in the tunnels, he thought they were further away but it wasn’t that. Their life force was just barely there.

He came closer and his stomach twisted when he saw who it was. The Aphrodite kid that was on the quest with Percy, he was cut, burnt and bleeding; left to hang there like a sack of meat.

One blue eye barely managed to open and look at him. “Ty…”

“I’ll cut him down,” Annabeth pulled out her dagger and moved toward the rope that was keeping him suspended.

Nico held up a hand, “No, don’t touch it!”

She froze and gave him a confused look.

Nico looked up further toward the kid’s chest and Annabeth followed his gaze.

Riptide was there, impaled in an area close to his heart.

As all three of them stared at it, the sword glowed faintly before pulsing and disappearing in a flash.

The kid they now recognized was Azarias tried to talk again. “Ty..ph…” The blood from the now open wound was spilling toward the floor with some of it going in his mouth.

Annabeth was already moving toward him and pulling out the last of their ambrosia. “Hold on, just eat some of this,” her hand was shaking.

She held the ambrosia to Azarias’s lips, but he was still.

“Just eat a little,” She waved it slightly. “It will help.”

“Annabeth,” Nico moved her hand away. “He’s gone.”

None of them spoke; there was no noise except for the patter of blood.

“Cut him down,” Nico said to Jason finally. “Let’s take him home.”

Jason took Annabeth’s dagger and cut the rope. Together they carefully eased Azarias down until he was lying comfortably on the ground.

Annabeth knelt next to the younger man and placed a hand on his arm. She said a few words, hoping to ease his soul to the underworld.

Nico bowed his head. _“Dad, please.”_

He didn’t have to ask his father what he wanted, he knew Hades would understand.

Nico didn’t know if he had enough energy to shadow travel back to Camp Half-Blood, but he was going to try either way. He made sure his two friends were holding onto him and then took Azarias’s hand in his own and summoned his shadows.

_“Take me home.”_

* * *

 

The pyre burned very brightly that night at Camp Half-Blood.

Everyone was there to pay their respects, even all the Roman campers who had been visiting.

Nico couldn’t look at Piper. She was heartbroken as she watched the flames consume her brother; she cried silently, holding on to Jason and their daughter.

Hazel had come to him at some point, trying to comfort him but he wasn’t in the mood for pity. Not only had they failed in their quest, but a camper was dead.

And he wasn’t sure if it was the man he loved who killed him.

Both Frank and Leo failed to get him to talk and even Jason had to walk away; they left him alone after that.

He briefly wondered where Annabeth was and if she was okay. The daughter of Athena had been very badly shaken by everything, probably due to the fact that it brought back bad memories.

Nico wanted to go check on her, but he couldn’t get his legs to work.

So he stood there in the shadows of a nearby building and watched the fire burn.

He didn’t move from his spot, not even after the flames died and the dawn came.

“I owe you a debt.”

Nico didn’t flinch; he didn’t even turn to regard the woman who spoke. “I don’t think you do, I had to bring him home; he deserved it.”

A warm hand grasped his chin and he was forced to look away from the dissipating smoke.

Aphrodite was very beautiful, much like her son had been; the rising sun only made her more so. Her appearance changed from a pretty blonde into a woman with Percy’s coloring; it made his heart ache.

“It doesn’t matter; I still owe you a debt. Not many demigods would have had the ability to bring him home.” She let go of his chin but Nico didn’t look away.

“The only thing I could ever want right now is impossible for you to bring me.” He looked away from her, his mind kept flashing to the sight of Riptide sticking out of Azarias’s chest. He couldn’t believe that Percy would do such a thing, there had to be a mistake.

“There are so many possibilities of the future right now,” she said after a small moment of silence. “I offer you repayment, in the case that there is a future in which I should owe it.”

And that was the end on their conversation.

The next time Nico looked, she was gone.

He to left soon afterward, once he was sure the fires had completely gone out.

There was still a question that hadn’t been answered yet. Percy had two demigods beside him when he left for his quest. The child Tyler, where did he disappear to in all the mess?

Was he taken as a hostage? Was he dead?

_“Azarias has said the kid’s name I think, but why?”_

Nico made it back to Percy’s cabin before anyone was up. It was better that way; it meant he didn’t have to talk to anyone.

He stripped out of his clothes and placed his sword next to him once he got on the bed. He didn’t mean to fall asleep but his body gave him no choice as he eyes shut against his will.

He slept for two days, and those two days were filled of nightmares and visions. He kept seeing Percy chasing down demigod children and killing them with Riptide.

He watched in horror as Percy killed Piper and Indigo and laughed as he did it.

All the nightmares were the same, all of their friends dead, all killed by the son of Poseidon. And the whole time there was a voice in his head saying ‘I won’ over and over again.

He jolted awake and sat up, almost smashing Frank in the face with his forehead. His hand scrambled to grab the sea glass necklace, and he only took a breath when he felt it safe there.

“Nico?”

His eyes darted to meet Frank’s.

The bigger man look scared, but not of Nico. He must have been worried about Nico being dead or something.

“What’s up?” Nico’s throat was raw, he looked to the bedside table for a bottle of water but there was none.

“Hold on,” Frank put his hand on Nico’s head like the move would keep him paralyzed until he returned.

Nico didn’t have the strength to argue, he only moved enough so that his feet were on the floor and he was sitting up straighter.

Frank returned with a cold glass of water, and Nico drank it. He didn’t know how really thirsty he was until he down the whole thing in seconds.

“Hazel was worried about you when we couldn’t find you,” Frank explained. “Jason found you here the day before yesterday and we all decided to let you sleep. But with all the shadow traveling you did I just want to make sure…”

“That I didn’t disappear?” Nico finished for him. He handed the glass back to Frank, “I’m fine I just really needed to crash.”

The news seemed to wipe some of the worry off Frank’s expression. “Do you need anything?”

Nico shook his head and waved him away. “No, I’m going to take a shower and leave after that.”

“Leave?”

“Yes, I have to find Percy.” He stood up and stretched, cursing when his back cracked painfully. “Something is coming, Fai, something big; you need to rally the Romans.”

Frank stood up a bit straighter, like he was ready to fend off an enemy right there. “Big like Gaia big?”

“Yes,” Nico could still hear the voice in his head echoing from his dreams. “It may be even bigger than her.”

Frank didn’t say much after that. He left after double checking that Nico didn’t need anything but Nico shooed him away.

Nico jumped in the shower, his brain working in overdrive, trying to come up with a plan. He didn’t know where to start; he didn’t know where to find Percy or if it was possible to find him.

He didn’t stay in the shower long, it was only a matter of time before Frank told Jason that he was leaving and the blond rushed over to stop him.

He quickly got dressed and put on some light armor. Once his sword was strapped to his belt he walked into the shadows and traveled to a familiar place.

He didn’t want to say goodbye, not to any of them.

If he did he knew he’d be carrying their sad faces to his grave, and he didn’t think he could handle that.

Nico stepped out of the shadow of a tall willow tree and into the warm sun. He looked across the pond to the white villa resting alongside a hill not too far in the distance and started toward it.

He rarely came here; his father brought him once to show him what it was. It took Nico a long time to return after that first trip.

He didn’t go to the villa but stopped under a brilliant Olive tree in the back garden. There were two headstones there, one for Bianca and one for his mother.

He sat down in between them and lowered his head.

“Hey.”

There was no answer, which he was expecting.

Honestly he’d be more startled if there was an answer.

“I’m kind of lost and I need to clear my head; so I thought I would come visit.”

There was no one around to hear him talking to the headstones. His father bought the villa not long after the war with Gaia; and it was so far in the country no one bothered it.

“Percy’s in trouble again, not that that’s surprising,” Nico sighed and smirked. “I’m sure if you were both here you’d be rolling your eyes.”

He didn’t say anything after that. He couldn’t stop himself; there was a part of him that wanted his mother and sister alive so they could be there. He would get Percy and bring him home and his mother would fuss over him and Bianca would call them both fools.

The thought were pleasant but they would never happen, not unless they were all reborn into the world at the same time.

He was so caught up in his thought he almost missed the gripping feeling in his stomach.

Nico’s hands flew to his chest in alarm. He knew this feeling; it was something he never wanted to experience after the war with Gaia.

Someone he knew was dying.

He locked onto the person’s life force and disappeared into the shadow world, not stopping to say goodbye.

_“They’re in Italy, a demigod. Who would it be?”_

He could remember Chiron telling them that Clarisse was Italy if they needed backup, but why would she be running into trouble?

_“Unless it’s Percy, please don’t let it be Percy.”_

When he came out of the shadows he could hear Clarisse loud and clear.

“Come on, Pissy, show me what you got!”

His heart almost stopped in his chest.

Percy was there, Riptide was in his hand dripping and with crimson blood. He had a twisted smile on his face, it didn’t look right; it looked sadistic and wrong.

This was not Percy.

Clarisse was holding her electric spear in front of her but she was half on her knees with a giant gash on the back of her leg. “I come back to do Chiron one favor and this is what happens!” She was struggling to get to her feet but she didn’t seem scared. “Get over here you green eyed monster! Don’t make me limp my ass over there!”

Nico moved to put himself in between them but Percy was fast. With a cackle he charged at Clarisse, sword raised, ready to take her head off.

Nico somehow made it in time to block Riptide with his own blade. The force from Percy’s attack was almost strong enough to knock the teeth out of his mouth.

“Di Angelo?” Clarisse hissed from behind him.

Nico wasted no time; he covered her with shadows and held her there. He wanted Percy’s attention to be on him.

“You’re supposed to be dead,” Percy said with no emotion in his voice.

“Surprise,” Nico pushed him back and Percy had to backflip to stay on his feet.

“My master will have to try harder next time, that’s disappointing.” Percy didn’t take up an offensive stance again; he stood there calmly picking the blood off his sword.

“Who’s your master?” Nico asked him.

“Oh wouldn’t you like to know.”

It was obvious that Percy was under some kind of spell, he needed to get as much information as he could out of him.

“Who’s controlling you, Perseus?”

Percy didn’t act as though he heard the question; he continued to pick at his sword until he let out a sigh. “Look, I was only sent to kill the demigods in this area and she’s the last out of three. If you let me slice her into pieces, I’ll tell you who my master is.”

Nico’s eyes widened, he couldn’t believe Percy was talking about Clarisse like that. The two had never been friends, but he would never kill her.

_“He said he killed others? What is going on?”_

When it became apparent that Nico wasn’t going to move or say anything, Percy jumped into action again.

He came at Nico with full strength, knocking him back and trying to disarm him. Nico almost lost an eye before he managed to press back and Percy retreated to the other side of the street they were standing in.

“Okay, okay, fine keep her.” Percy held up his hands like he was going to surrender. “She’ll be dead sooner or later once my master is finished in Germany. Go and enjoy what time you have left.” He capped Riptide and waved to Nico and started to walk away.

“Where are you going?” Nico demanded. He couldn’t leave Clarisse, but he couldn’t let Percy go. He would never find him.

Percy turned around and gave him that sadistic smile. “Haven’t you heard? There’s a party going on!” The green eyed man looked giddy at the thought. “I heard it attracts a lot of demigods so I thought I’d check it out. You know, kill two birds with one stone kind of thing.”

Then he made a noise like he had just come to a brilliant conclusion. “You know, I have no one to go to the ball with.” He was smiling again and Nico could feel the cold sweat run down his back. “You should take me, being my lover and all; we can dance in the shadow of the moon.”

Nico was still too shocked to reply.

Percy sighed dramatically and continued walking away again. “If you’re interested come find me tomorrow night, wear something appropriate!”

And then a portal of some kind opened up, and he was gone.

As soon as the portal closed it was like everything came back to life. His ears popped and color came back to the world. It was only then when he noticed the numerous dead bodies lying around, soaking the stone street with their blood.

He said nothing as he waved away the shadows holding Clarisse safe.

He half expected her to attack him as well, but she sat there quietly gripping her spear with so much force her knuckles were white.

Nico knew he had to get her back to Camp Half-blood to get her leg looked at, as well as take the dead back to their families so he willed his body to move.

_“How many more bodies will I have to bring back to the camp?”_

He caught Clarisse’s gaze and was shocked to see real fear there.

“Clarisse?”

She jumped and looked at Nico, her face pale. “He’s going to kill us all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there's any inconsistencies I'm sorry, it's been a while since I read or wrote anything for this.  
> Much love.


End file.
